PYONGYANG LAUNCHES ‘SUPER-LARGE WARHEAD’
Analysts warn North Korea could be testing cruise missiles before sending them to Russia for use in Ukraine, in defiance of United Nations sanctions
North Korea has tested a “super-large warhead” designed for a strategic cruise missile, state media said yesterday, the most recent test since UN sanctions monitoring against the nuclear-armed nation was upended last month by Russia.
The announcement comes after Russia in March used its United Nations Security Council veto to effectively end monitoring of violations of the raft of sanctions on Kim Jong-un’s government for its nuclear and weapons programme.
Analysts have warned North Korea could be testing cruise missiles ahead of sending them to Russia for use in Ukraine, with Washington and Seoul claiming Kim has shipped weapons to Moscow, despite UN sanctions banning such moves.
“The DPRK Missile Administration has conducted a power test of a super-large warhead designed for ‘Hwasal-1 Ra-3’ strategic cruise missile,” the KCNA news agency yesterday said.
North Korea also carried out a test launch of a “Pyoljji-1-2, a new type of anti-aircraft missile in the West Sea of Korea”, KCNA said, adding that both tests were carried out on Friday afternoon.
Seoul’s military said it detected “several cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles” fired towards the same body of water, also known as the Yellow Sea, at about 3.30pm. It added that it was “closely watching” the North’s military activities, and if Pyongyang “commits a provocation, we will punish it overwhelmingly and resolutely”.
This year, Pyongyang has declared South Korea its “principal enemy”, jettisoned agencies dedicated to reunification and outreach, and threatened war over “even 0.001mm” of territorial infringement.
Unlike their ballistic counterparts, the testing of cruise missiles is not banned under current UN sanctions on North Korea. Cruise missiles tend to be jet-propelled and fly at a lower altitude than more sophisticated ballistic missiles, making them harder to detect and intercept.
Ahn Chan-il, a researcher who defected and now runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies in Seoul, said the test appears to involve “a new type of solid fuel, and it seems to be part of the production of exports in response to Russian demand”.
Pyongyang said the tests were “part of the regular activities” of the country’s missile administration and had “nothing to do with the surrounding situation”.
Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said it appeared that the tests were intended “to determine the type and potency – in terms of weight and destructiveness – of a warhead that can be equipped on a highly manoeuvrable cruise missile”.
North Korea will continue to “make improvements in the performance of its conventional weapons, as well as its cruise missiles”, on top of its nuclear programme, he said. Last year, it conducted a record number of tests in defiance of UN sanctions in place since 2006.
Pyongyang declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear weapons state in 2022. Earlier this month, it said it had tested a new medium-to-long-range solid-fuel hypersonic missile. The largely isolated nation recently bolstered military ties with Moscow, and this month it thanked Russia for its veto blocking the renewal of a panel of UN experts that monitored international sanctions against it.
[The test] seems to be part of the production of exports in response to Russian demand AHN CHAN-IL, RESEARCHER