Advertisement
Seoul: On Monday, North Korea said it had tested two cruise missiles from a submarine off its east coast. This missile is the latest in a series of weapons tests to be conducted in the country.
The test was conducted on Sunday, a day before the start of large-scale joint military exercises by the US and South Korean forces. Military exercises between the two countries are seen by North Korea as a rehearsal for an attack on it.
The country’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Monday that the two missiles were tested to confirm the reliability of the weapon system and to assess the underwater-to-surface offensive operations of the country’s submarine units.
North Korea’s missile test shows the North’s resolve to respond with overwhelmingly powerful forces to US and South Korean military forces. The Korean Central News Agency also indicated that North Korea’s aim is to arm the cruise missiles it has tested with a nuclear weapon. According to the agency, the missiles flew for more than two hours.
According to KCNA, the missile created a figure-eight-shaped pattern in the waters off the country’s east coast and hit a target 1,500 kilometers away. The missiles were fired from the 8.24 Yongang ship. North Korea has conducted all of its known submarine-launched ballistic missile tests since 2016, KCNA said, referring to a submarine.
Sunday’s action was the North’s first underwater missile test since it tested a weapon from a silo under the reservoir last October. Last May, the country test-fired a short-range ballistic missile from the same ship.
