SEOUL: North Korea on Wednesday tested new tactical ballistic missiles using super-large warheads and modified cruise missiles, as leader Kim Jong Un called for stronger conventional weapons and nuclear capabilities, the state news agency reported. KCNA reported.
The tests to improve the weapons' capabilities are necessary because of the serious threat posed by external forces to the country's security, said Kim, who led the tests.
The report came after the South Korean military reported Wednesday launch of multiple short-range ballistic missiles, which was the second time North Korea has tested missiles in a week.
Last week, North Korea also disclosed a uranium enrichment facility, in its first such public report.
Kim stressed “the need to continue strengthening the nuclear force and to have the strongest military technical capability and overwhelming offensive capability also in the field of conventional weapons.” KCNA saying.
Wednesday's tests involved the new Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 tactical ballistic missiles, KCNA he said, indicating that it was part of a series of short-range ballistic missiles he had been developing.
The missile was equipped with a super-large 4.5-ton conventional warhead. KCNA saying.
North Korean state media reported on missile tests of the same name in July, which were deemed a partial success. On Thursday, state media published photographs of a projectile hitting a target in a mountainous area.
South Korea's military said Thursday that two ballistic missiles landed in a mountainous area in northeastern North Korea.
A test-firing of a missile intended to hit an inland target is likely unprecedented, said Shin Seung-ki, who is the head of research on North Korea's military at the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul.
North Korea routinely test-fires missiles into the sea or at an uninhabited island.
The particular missile with the designation Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 is still under development, but Russia may want it soon if its performance and reliability can be guaranteed through further testing, Shin said.
“North Korea will want to shorten that time as much as possible,” he said.
kyiv officials and independent experts have said there are indications that some of the missiles used by Russia in the war against Ukraine are North Korean-made, including some made this year. Both Moscow and Pyongyang deny any illegal arms trafficking or shipments.
North Korea's military also tested a strategic cruise missile that has been upgraded for combat use. KCNA saying.
North Korea has criticized military exercises by the South Korean and U.S. militaries, including a large-scale drill this summer, as preparations for war on the Korean Peninsula.
The allies say the exercises are defensive in nature and aimed at maintaining readiness for any North Korean aggression.
