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The Korean Peninsula at night as photographed from the International Space Station

Asia-Pacific

North Korea tests two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles, two days after 900 km ballistic launches

North Korea says it test-fired two types of strategic cruise missiles from a submarine in the East Sea on October 14. KCNA gave no location, submarine or missile names, and Kim Jong Un was not reported as present.

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Archive photo: the Korean Peninsula at night, photographed by the crew of Expedition 38 on the International Space Station on January 30, 2014. Photo: NASA.

North Korea carried out test launches of two types of strategic cruise missiles from a submarine in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) on Wednesday, October 14. The state news agency KCNA made the announcement on Thursday morning, under the headline “DPRK Missile Administration test-fires submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles”.

“The test aimed to examine the current state of readiness of the submarine combat systems and contributed to training the Navy in carrying out its strategic missions and demonstrating the high reliability and capability of the DPRK’s deterrence means,” KCNA said, as reported by South Korea’s Yonhap. According to the Seoul Economic Daily, KCNA added that the launch had “no adverse impact whatsoever” on the security of neighbouring countries.

KCNA gave no details on the launch site, the submarine, the flight time, the range or the names of the missiles. Nor was the presence of leader Kim Jong Un mentioned. The test was observed by Kim Jong Sik, a member of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party, Missile Administration General Director Jang Chang Ha, and engineers of the Navy’s submarine weapon systems. The news was not published in Rodong Sinmun, the party newspaper aimed at the domestic audience.

By Thursday morning, Korean time, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff had neither released nor commented on the launch, according to South Korean media.

Context

The test came two days after the launch of several ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area towards the East Sea on October 12. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, one of them flew more than 900 kilometres, while KCNA spoke of a test of a “tactical ballistic missile”. “They may have fired a short-range ballistic missile at its maximum range, or it is also possible they fired a medium-range missile at a reduced distance,” the Joint Chiefs spokesman, Captain Jang Do-young, had said, according to Yonhap.

Earlier in the month Pyongyang had also launched a ballistic missile from Wonsan. At the same time Seoul is developing its own weapons, with the first successful test of a domestic hypersonic glide vehicle.

Cruise missile Kim Jong Un North Korea South Korea Submarines

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