The Hwaseong-16Na missile has an estimated range of 3,000–5,500 km. When launched from Pyongyang, the missile has the ability to strike US military base in Guam at its maximum estimated range. (Janes)

North Korea test-fired a “new” solid-fuelled intermediate-range hypersonic missile known as Hwaseong-16Na for the first time on 2 April, state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on 3 April.

The test firing of the missile – which features a “newly developed” hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) – was aimed at confirming its designed technical specifications and verifying the reliability, KCNA said.

The test was conducted to verify the missile’s orbit altitude and cross-range manoeuvring capability within its limited range of 1,000 km, KCNA added.

The range was limited to 1,000 km considering safety, and the speed and altitude of the missile were controlled by delaying the start-up of the second-stage engine and rapidly changing the flight orbit, KCNA said.