WW3 fears are once more on the rise as North Korea flight-tested a new missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead designed to strike remote US targets in the region.

The North’s first ballistic test of 2024 set off from a site near the capital of Pyongyang, and was reportedly aimed at verifying the reliability of the missile’s solid-fuel engines and the maneuverable flight capabilities of the hypersonic warhead.

Reports from the country didn’t state whether North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended the test, but it comes amid heightening tensions in the region as his country fired shots towards South Korea, before they responded with their own rounds. It also comes as Russia and North Korea strenghten ties, with North Korean foreign minister Choe Son Hui travelling to Moscow for a three-day visit starting January 15.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov invited Choe Son Hui for an “official visit,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Sunday, January 14. Lavrov spent several days in Pyongyang last October.

North Korea said Sunday’s missile launch was part of the country’s regular weapons development activities and did not affect the security of neighbours, but tension is rising as a result of its aggressive activities.

Experts said the launch reflected a push from North Korea to advance its lineup of weapons targeting US military bases in Guam and Japan.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

The North’s existing intermediate-range ballistic missiles or IRBMs, including the Hwasong-12 that may be able to reach the US military hub of Guam in the Pacific, are powered by liquid-fuel engines, which are fueled up before launch and cannot stay fueled for long.

Missiles with built-in solid propellants can be made ready to launch faster and are easier to move and conceal, theoretically making it harder for adversaries to detect and preempt the launch.

The North has since 2021 also been testing hypersonic weapons designed to exceed five times the speed of sound. If perfected, such systems could potentially pose a challenge to regional missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability.

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