On January 6, North Korea test-launched a Hwasong-16B (HS-16B) solid-propellant intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) carrying a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) payload. This was the third apparently successful flight of the HS-16 booster (two with HGVs, the other with a maneuvering reentry vehicle (MaRV) payload), probably meaning that the North considers the booster ready for operational deployment. The success of the HGV payload, however, cannot be confirmed, marking three apparently lackluster MaRV flights (one on a liquid booster); several successful flights over at least a few years probably will be needed before the HGV is ready for deployment.
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