SEOUL: North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles off its west coast, South Korea’s military claimed on Friday, the fourth time in just over a week Pyongyang has fired such missiles. South Korea’s military said the launch took place at 11 a.m. (0200 GMT) but did not give further details.
Pyongyang has called them “strategic” cruise missiles, indicating they may be nuclear-capable weapons.
Earlier this week, North Korea said it had tested its new submarine-launched cruise missiles with leader Kim Jong Un on site to supervise. Kim inspected the construction of new warships at an eastern shipyard, terming such projects vital to the country’s war preparations.
N Korea Launches Multiple Cruise Missiles: S Korea
His tour to the Nampho shipyard followed a string of weapons tests last month that fueled heightened tensions with rivals, including demonstrations of new cruise missiles developed to be fired from submarines.
Kim has asserted his goals in recent months to develop a nuclear-armed navy to counter what he portrays as increasing external threats posed by the US, Japan, and South Korea, which have expanded their military cooperation to counter North’s nuclear weapons and missile programme.
He also recently commended the test fire of a new strategic cruise missile from a submarine, terming it an important moment in the development of the North’s naval power.
Strengthening of North Korea’s naval force
A nuclear-powered submarine was on Kim Jong Un’s strategic weapons wish list set at an important party congress in 2021, along with spy satellites, a hypersonic warhead, and solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles.
During his tour to the Nampho Shipyard, about sixty-five kilometers southwest of Pyongyang, Kim was briefed on different warships under construction as well as preparations for a “new grand plan” approved by the ruling party. No details of the plan were revealed.
North Korea launched what it termed its first “tactical nuclear attack submarine” in 2023, which Seoul’s military said at the time did not appear to be operational.
Observers said the ship appeared to be modified from an existing diesel-electric submarine originally built in the 1950s and raised questions about its vulnerabilities, and limitations as a platform.
