North Korea tested a “super-large warhead” designed for a strategic cruise missile on Friday, triggering panic in neighbouring South Korea its principal enemy.
This year, Pyongyang has declared South Korea its “principal enemy” and threatened war over “even 0.001 mm” of territorial infringement.
“The DPRK Missile Administration has conducted a power test of a super-large warhead designed for ‘Hwasal-1 Ra-3’ strategic cruise missile”, North Korea said Saturday.
North Korea also carried out a test launch of a “‘Pyoljji-1-2’ new-type anti-aircraft missile in the West Sea of Korea”, KCNA said, adding that both tests were carried out on Friday afternoon.
Seoul’s military said Saturday it detected “several cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles” fired toward the same body of water, also known as the Yellow Sea, at around 3:30 pm (0630GMT) Friday.
It added that it was “closely watching” the North’s military activities, and if Pyongyang “commits a provocation, we will punish it overwhelmingly and resolutely”.
Unlike their ballistic counterparts, the testing of cruise missiles is not banned under current UN sanctions on North Korea.
Cruise missiles tend to be jet-propelled and fly at a lower altitude than more sophisticated ballistic missiles, making them harder to detect and intercept.
Analysts have warned that North Korea could be testing cruise missiles ahead of sending them to Russia for use in Ukraine.
Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, told the media that the test announced Saturday appears to involve “a new type of solid fuel, and it seems to be part of the production of exports in response to Russian demand”.
Pyongyang said Saturday the tests were “part of the regular activities” of the country’s missile administration and had “nothing to do with the surrounding situation”.
A “certain goal was attained” through the tests, it added, without giving further details.
Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said it appeared that the tests were intended “to determine the type and potency — in terms of weight and destructiveness — of a warhead that can be equipped on a highly maneuverable cruise missile”.
