With its first missile test of 2025, North Korea has made clear its continued interest in advanced hypersonic glide vehicle technologies, while showing that Kim Jong Un’s hypersonic ambitions are far from a vanity project. 

Pyongyang first flight-tested a hypersonic glide vehicle-toting ballistic missile in 2021 with what it called the Hwasong-8. Since then, the DPRK has revealed two additional iterations on the basic technology. 

Monday’s launch of a solid-fuel, intermediate-range hypersonic missile marks the third payload iteration, offering insights into what appears to be an active research and development area for the country’s