North Korea said it tested cruise missiles designed to be fired from submarines as the East Asian nation continued to ramp up military capabilities during a prolonged freeze in diplomacy with South Korea and the US.
State media said the military tested two types of submarine-fired missiles in the eastern waters on Wednesday.
It described the weapons as strategic, implying an intent to arm them with nuclear warheads, but didn’t specify whether they were launched from an actual submarine or an underwater test platform. It added that the tests were intended at assessing the readiness of underwater combat systems, improving the navy’s ability to carry out strategic missions, and demonstrating the reliability of its nuclear deterrent.
South Korea’s military did not immediately comment on the tests.
The latest launches extended a recent run in weapons demonstrations, including tests of hypersonic missile systems on 20 September and 3 October, which Pyongyang said were aimed at expanding its arsenal of weapons designed to overwhelm missile defences in South Korea and Japan.
North Korea has been developing ballistic and cruise missiles designed to be fired from submarines for years now. It has also made progress in building a nuclear-powered submarine that it wants to arm with nuclear weapons, as leader Kim Jong Un has turned his focus to strengthening the navy after a decade of expanding the ballistic missile programme.
Pyongyang’s potential acquisition of a submarine capable of operating stealthily for extended periods and launching missiles from underwater would be a worrying development for its neighbours as such launches would be difficult to detect in advance. But there have been questions about whether North Korea, a heavily sanctioned and impoverished country, has the resources and technology required to build such systems.
North Korea has also conducted live-fire drills and commissioned a new warship in recent weeks as Mr Kim has continued to reject American and South Korean offers to resume long-stalled diplomacy.
Mr Kim has halted all diplomacy and cooperation with the rival neighbour and described it as a permanent enemy, amid a yearslong stalemate in larger nuclear negotiations with Washington.
He has so far rebuffed US president Donald Trump’s calls to revive their diplomacy, which broke down in 2019. His government has called for Washington to abandon its “hostile” policy towards Pyongyang and drop demands for North Korea’s denuclearisation as a precondition for talks.
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