On Monday, North Korea announced it had test-launched a hypersonic warhead atop a cutting-edge missile

Hypersonic missiles are capable of traveling many times faster than the speed of sound

In addition to their speed, they are extremely maneuverable, meaning they can theoretically evade missile defense systems

Only China and Russia are thought to have deployable hypersonic missiles in their arsenals

In 2021, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un listed hypersonic weapons as one of the country’s five major military goals

North Korea has since conducted three tests of those, although foreign analysts disputed their success

On Sunday, North Korea launched a hypersonic warhead atop a solid-fuel intermediate-range missile

The solid-fuel missile launched the warhead into space, at which point the warhead re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and eventually landed in the sea

Missiles with solid fuel are easier to store and quicker to launch than missiles powered by liquid fuel, which make up most of North Korea’s arsenal

Sunday’s launch marked the first time it launched a hypersonic weapon atop a solid-fuel missile

Foreign analysts consider solid-fuel missiles and hypersonic weapons as capable of overwhelming missile defense systems

The technology could potentially give North Korea an advantage if it decided to attack South Korea, Japan, or US bases in the Pacific

North Korean state media said the test was intended to test “the gliding and maneuvering characteristics” of the warhead and the “reliability of newly developed…solid-fuel [missiles]”

Sunday’s missile test was North Korea’s first of 2024

It also launched its first military satellite in November and plans to launch three more this year

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