INTERNATIONAL: North Korea has fired a hypersonic missile this week that successfully hit a target, it has announced on Thursday, January 6, its second such test as the country pursues new military capabilities amid stalled denuclearisation talks.

The launch on Wednesday, January 5 was the first by North Korea since October and was detected by several militaries in the region, drawing criticism from governments in the United States, South Korea, and Japan.

North Korea has first tested a hypersonic missile in September, joining a race headed by major military powers to deploy the advanced weapons system. Unlike ballistic missiles that fly into outer space before returning on steep trajectories, hypersonic weapons fly towards targets at lower altitudes and can achieve more than five times the speed of sound - or about 6,200 kilometres per hour.

In Wednesday's test, the "hypersonic gliding warhead" detached from its rocket booster and maneuvered 120 km (75 miles) laterally before it "precisely hit" a target 700 km (430 miles) away, KCNA reported.