North Korea fires new missile as Blinken visits Seoul

# North Korea fires new missile as Blinken visits Seoul

*Event date: 2025-01-06*

North Korea says it has fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead, adding another demonstration of force just as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Seoul for talks with South Korean leaders.

The launch was Pyongyang's first in two months, according to the BBC report in the packet, and South Korea's military said the missile flew about 1,100 kilometres before falling into the sea. North Korea, by contrast, claimed the weapon travelled about 1,500 kilometres and reached 12 times the speed of sound. Those competing accounts show why the event is being treated carefully: the essential fact is the launch itself, while the performance claims remain Pyongyang's own version.

South Korea strongly condemned the test, calling it a clear provocation. The BBC report says the missile's flight took place during Blinken's trip to Seoul, where he met South Korea's acting president, Choi Sang-mok, and described the alliance between Washington and Seoul as a cornerstone of peace and stability on the peninsula.

The timing matters as much as the missile. Pyongyang chose a moment when the US top diplomat was already in the region, turning the launch into a political message as well as a weapons test. The report also says South Korea has strengthened surveillance for further launches and is closely sharing information with the United States and Japan.

The source provides a small but telling detail about the missile itself. KCNA published pictures showing a weapon that resembled one launched in April last year, although North Korea said the new version included a different flight and guidance control system and a new carbon-fibre engine. Those are claims from the North Korean state news agency, not independently verified in the packet, so the article presents them as such.

The launch also unfolded against broader strategic tensions. Blinken said in Seoul that the United States believes Russia plans to share advanced space and satellite technology with North Korea, and warned that Moscow may be close to recognising Pyongyang as a nuclear power. The BBC report does not connect that warning directly to the missile test, but it shows the launch happening inside a wider discussion about North Korea's military and diplomatic relationships.

Domestic politics in South Korea added another layer. The country was already under strain after suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law attempt in December, his impeachment vote and the prospect of arrest. The source notes that Pyongyang mocked Yoon's move as an insane act. That reaction is part of a broader pattern in which North Korea exploits South Korean instability while testing weapons.

The BBC report does not say whether the missile was intercepted or whether there were any casualties or damage. It also does not provide independent confirmation of the hypersonic performance claims. For that reason, the article stays with the facts that are supported: a launch took place, South Korea said the missile flew around 1,100 kilometres, North Korea said it was a new hypersonic weapon, and Blinken's visit was under way at the same time.

Taken together, the test was a reminder that North Korea continues to use missile launches to send messages to its neighbours and to Washington. Even without a full independent technical assessment, the political signal is unmistakable: Pyongyang is keeping pressure on the region while the United States and its allies focus on deterrence and surveillance.