that means north korea would be able to intimidate the united states. >> reporter: south korea says the north's newly tested hypersonic missile is likely in the early stages of development and can still be detected and intercepted by south korean and u.s. missile defense systems. at least for now. >> we don't know yet about the full capacity of these hypersonic missiles, but when you connect these new missile capabilities, new launch ca capabilities and the miniaturization of nuclear weapons it leads to the conclusion that north korea will possibly or likely have an increased strike capability and that's going to increase the threat that north korea poses to countries around the world. >> reporter: right now just two nations have deployed hypersonic missiles -- russia and china. the u.s. is actively testing and developing hypersonic missile technology. three world powers and now possibly north korea, a new global arms race escalating at hypersonic speed.