Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
North Korea fired long-range strategic cruise missiles into the sea to test the nuclear deterrence, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on December 29.
The news agency said that leader Kim Jong Un expressed “great satisfaction” over the launches, which occurred off the country’s west coast.
The North Korean leader stressed that regular testing of the components of the country’s nuclear deterrent was a legitimate exercise of its right to self-defense amid persistent security threats. He also reaffirmed Pyongyang’s commitment to the continued development of the country’s nuclear combat forces, according to the agency.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it was aware of several cruise missile launches made from North Korea’s capital region on December 28, stressing that it maintains a readiness to repel any potential provocations through its alliance with the United States.
Photos shared by KCNA show two cruise missiles, both believed to be from the Hwasal-1-series, hitting their targets with high accuracy.
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
The Hwasal-1, first unveiled in 2021, is believed to have a range of 1,500 kilometers. The supersonic cruise missile can reportedly be armed with the Hwasan-31 tactical nuclear warhead, which weights 150-200 kg and has a blast yield of 4-10 kt.
In 2024, North Korea tested a new version of the missile armed with a heavy conventional warhead. This version, dubbed the Hwasal-1 Ra-3, is said to have a reduced range.
Interestingly, the North Korean missile test came just a few days after a rumor claiming that Russia was preparing to deploy a variant of the Hwasal-1 Ra-3 missile in combat operations against Ukraine spread on social networks. These claims led to a state of panic in Ukraine media, which released many reports warning of the missile.
Last week, Kim toured facilities involved in the production of Hwasong-11-series tactical ballistic missiles, which the the intelligence services of both the U.S. and Ukraine claim were supplied to Russia.
Russia and North Korea signed a strategic partnership pact in 2024, then sent thousands of its troops to support the Russian military in the face of a Ukrainian attack in the Kursk region, along with military equipment and ammunition.
There is still no evidence indicating that North Korea has supplied any type of cruise missiles to Russia. Despite recent rumors this remains highly-unlikely, as the Russian military-industrial complex has been successfully expanding the production of such systems since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine.
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did al qaeda (syrian government) kidnap kurdish chief abdi?
it’s pretty basic they want the shah in iran and they want the reserve banking system there and in north korea too they’re the only two in the world that haven’t complied , because they won’t under their leaders. the shah will and whoever replaces kim will. in between they get russia and ukraine too. its not rocket science , its monopoly. parker bros. mayfair park lane regent street etc.
general soleimani deserves eternal respect, but the jewish pig putin deserves eternal contempt.
we all know that bashar al-assad and putler have deliberately destroyed the syrian army and betrayed syria.
when bashar’s cousin rami makhlouf posted online what suhail al-hassan had told him, the latter was transferred to yakutsk to teach north koreans and yakuts.