SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea flight-tested on Thursday its first domestically developed hypersonic weapon, designed to fly at least five times the speed of sound and evade missile defense systems, bringing Seoul closer to what it says could be game-changing weapons capabilities.
There was no immediate response from North Korea, which last week tested its own hypersonic missile that landed in the waters near Japan.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung attended the test, saying it's a major step in strengthening the country’s conventional defense capabilities, according to a statement. It did not elaborate where the test took place.
The statement said the weapon separated from its booster rocket at the planned altitude, then descended and maneuvered both vertically and horizontally before hitting a test target. It said once developed, the weapon would be able to strike key targets by surprise in the “Korean Peninsula theater of operations.”
Lee stressed that South Korea “must secure our security through our own strength,” and also inspected the country’s most powerful Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile on Thursday, his office said. It did not mention any direct comments by Lee on the North.
Tensions between the Koreas have increased in recent weeks after three South Korean soldiers were injured in land mine explosions last month near the heavily armed inter-Korean border.
The South's military and the U.S.-led United Nations Command concluded the blasts were caused by devices planted by North Korea, which has denied responsibility and ridiculed the South's demands for an apology.
North Korea has also stepped up weapons testing activity as its leader Kim Jong Un expands his military nuclear program while taking an increasingly hard line toward Seoul.
Kim has so far rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls to revive their diplomacy that broke down in 2019, with his government demanding that Washington abandon its “hostile” policy toward Pyongyang and drop demands for its denuclearization as a precondition for talks.
The tensions have been a setback for Lee, who favors engagement with North Korea and has tempered his rhetoric toward the North even as public anger grows over the mine blasts.
Lee has also called for strengthening South Korea’s conventional defense capabilities while reducing its reliance on the United States, which unilaterally decided to scale back a major military exercise with the South in August, with Trump citing his “very good relationship” with Kim.
In its latest weapons test on Oct. 3, North Korea launched what it described as a hypersonic intermediate-range missile that it said flew more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles). Japan said the missile landed in waters outside of its exclusive economic zone.
South Korea said it detected the missile flying more than 700 kilometers (435 miles), while Japan’s Defense Ministry said it assessed that the missile flew about 680 kilometers (422 miles).
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, claimed the differing flight estimates by the two U.S. allies showed they are incapable of properly tracking such a missile during its flight and would therefore not be able to intercept it.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung delivers a speech during the Armed Forces Day at a military base in Gyeyong, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Jeon Heon-kyun/Pool Photo via AP)
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Portugal on the last leg of a three-nation tour of NATO allies.
Rubio arrived in Lisbon on Thursday for a brief stop on his return to Washington, a day after delivering a speech in the Greek capital of Athens urging European countries to save Western civilization by upholding the values and traditions of ancient Greece.
Rubio, who began his trip in Iceland, is expected to thank Portuguese officials for supporting U.S. operations in the Iran war by allowing the U.S. to use the Lajes Field air base in Portugal’s mid-Atlantic Azores islands, which is strategically located for military refueling flights.
The U.S. Air Force has long had a base there under an agreement with Portugal. Unlike neighboring Spain, where Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez refused to allow the American military to use Spanish bases to stage operations for attacks on Iran, Portugal’s center-right government granted Washington “conditional approval” to use Lajes Field.
“Portugal is a great ally, very cooperative ally of the United States and a country with which we already have a solid and growing relationship. And we visit these countries in order to reinforce those ties,” Rubio said before departing Athens. “That’s the purpose of the trip.”
Spain’s position infuriated President Donald Trump, who has fumed publicly on numerous occasions about its government and other European countries he deems insufficiently supportive of his administration’s policies.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said the approval didn’t include hostile actions that go against international law. Members of the government said Portugal was performing the duties of a U.S. ally.
Rubio met first with Prime Minister Luis Montenegro at the São Bento palace. Neither of them offered comments to the media.
Some Portuguese political parties balked at the move. Following a formal complaint by a small left-wing political party called Left Bloc, the country’s attorney general’s office said last week it is looking into whether the use of the Lajes Field base was lawful.
As one of the smallest members of NATO and the European Union, Portugal is keen to cultivate its relations with bigger countries.
Portugal, a country of fewer than 11 million people, spends just over 2% of its GDP on defense, according to NATO. The government says it plans to increase defense spending to around 3%, including dual-use investments in civilian infrastructure. Portugal has around 25,000 military personnel, the alliance says.
“I’m asking our allies to be strong,” Rubio said in Greece. “We want a strong Europe.”
Lajes Field was first used by the United States in World War II. After the war, Lisbon and Washington signed a formal agreement for the Air Force's use of the base, which has a long runway to cater for heavy military aircraft.
The base was scaled back after the end of the Cold War and now mostly handles the refueling of trans-Atlantic military flights.
A previous Portuguese center-right government also supported U.S. military action in Afghanistan and Iraq.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is greeted by Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, at the Sao Bento Palace in Lisbon. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is greeted by Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, at the Sao Bento Palace in Lisbon. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, meets with Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, at the Sao Bento Palace in Lisbon. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding a plane at Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport near Athens, Greece, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
