North Korea test-fired a hypersonic missile, Wednesday, in this photo released by the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the day after. KCNA report said the latest test was a success. North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the launch. Yonhap

By Jung Da-min

North Korea is expected to continue its missile tests this year, regardless of who is elected to be the next president of South Korea in the election set for March 9, according to North Korea watchers, Thursday.

This forecast came a day after the North's state-run Academy of Defense Science test-fired a hypersonic missile the day before, according to Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Thursday. It said the missile launch was part of efforts to fulfill the country's national task of modernizing strategic armed force capabilities under its five-year plan for the strategic arms sector, first presented at the eighth congress of the country's ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in January of last year.

Pyongyang's latest missile launch was the second test of the country's hypersonic missile, following the first launch of the Hwasong-8 in late last September, although the tested missiles had different form factors.

Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, said he believes North Korea has made its message clear, that it will continue its weapons testings, including the hypersonic missile, according to its own plan and timeline, regardless of the international geopolitical situation.