North Korea claims to have test-fired a new tactical guided missile
North Korea announced today (March 26) that it has test-fired a newly developed tactical guided missile. This is the first time in a year that the country has confirmed the launch of a ballistic missile.
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| North Korea admits testing new tactical missile. Photo: KCNA |
According to Yonhap, the South Korean military said earlier that on March 25, North Korea appeared to have launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea east of the Korean Peninsula, raising concerns that they were missiles banned under a resolution of the United Nations Security Council.
The new weapon is based on existing technology but has been improved to carry a 2.5-ton warhead, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Two missiles hit a target 600 km away, off the country's east coast.
Japanese and South Korean officials estimated that the North Korean missile flew about 420-450 km.
According to KCNA, the Academy of National Defense Science conducted the test and it was successful as expected.
“The development of this weapon system is of utmost significance in bolstering up the military might of the DPRK and repelling all military threats,” Ri Pyong Chol, a senior North Korean leader who oversaw the test, was quoted by KCNA as saying.
Photos released by KCNA show the missile painted in white and black being launched from a military vehicle.
Missile experts at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California said it appeared a missile appeared in a major military parade in Pyongyang last October.
If confirmed, the missile North Korea tested yesterday could be an improved version of the KN-23 missile with a “very large warhead,” said Jeffrey Lewis of the James Martin Center.
KCNA said yesterday's test confirmed the missile's ability to perform low-altitude gliding, a feature that makes it difficult to detect and shoot down.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not oversee the new missile test.