North Korea has conducted a test of a “super-large warhead” for its “strategic” cruise missiles as well as a test-firing of a new anti-aircraft missile, state-run media said Saturday, as Pyongyang continues to add new weapons to its growing arsenal.
“The DPRK Missile Administration has conducted a power test of a super-large warhead designed for ‘Hwasal-1 Ra-3’ strategic cruise missile and a test launch of ‘Pyoljji-1-2’ new-type anti-aircraft missile in the West Sea of Korea” on Friday afternoon, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a short report.
“Through the test launch, a certain goal was attained,” it added without giving more details.
North Korea uses the term “strategic” to refer to weapons that are intended to carry nuclear warheads.
“Both tests were part of the regular activities of the administration and its affiliated defense science institutes for the rapid development of technologies in various aspects such as tactical and technical performance and operation of new-type weapon systems,” the KCNA report said, adding that they “had nothing to do with” the regional security situation.
Earlier this month, North Korea tested what it said was a new type of intermediate-range solid-fueled ballistic missile loaded with a newly developed hypersonic glide vehicle. While the launches of ballistic missiles have garnered headlines, the nuclear-armed country has also tested a number of new strategic cruise missiles and submarine-launched weapons since the beginning of the year.
Experts say cruise missiles present a unique danger in that they can fly low and maneuver, making them potentially very difficult to intercept by air and missile defenses. Unlike ballistic weapons, North Korea’s cruise missiles are not banned under United Nations sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.