North Korea has tested and deployed tactical nuclear cruise missiles. The state media today said, Kim Jong Un supervised the launch of two long-range cruise missiles and the weapons had already been deployed to “tactical nuke” units of the North Korean army.
The Wednesday’s test of the two cruise missiles by North Korea aimed at “enhancing the combat efficiency” of the weapons.
The cruise missiles travel at lower altitudes than ballistic missiles and it becomes difficult to detect them and intercept.
Kim expressed “great satisfaction” with the tests and said the country’s nuclear combat forces were at “full preparedness for actual war.” Kim sent signals of a “clear warning to the enemies of North Korea,” KCNA said.
With talks long stalled, and Ukraine-linked gridlock at the United Nations stymying the chance of fresh sanctions, Kim has doubled down on developing and testing his banned nuclear arsenal.
Officials in Seoul and Washington have been warning for months that Pyongyang is ready to conduct another nuclear test – which would be the country’s seventh.
Kim said North Korea will “focus all efforts on the endless and accelerating development of the national nuclear combat armed forces,” KCNA reported Thursday.
Pyongyang is not banned by the UN from testing cruise missiles, but all ballistic missile launches are in violation of sanctions and are typically flagged by Seoul or Tokyo.
“The latest test means the North Korea is operating tactical nuclear capability on cruise missiles,” Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification told media.
“It is a testament to North Korea’s capability to mount nuclear warheads,” he said, and added that cruise missiles can also have irregular flight paths making them harder to intercept.
