North Korea conducts nuclear-capable cruise missile testing

The Pulhwasal-3-31 cruise missile is still in the development stage, according to the state news agency.

As it works to bolster its military might, North Korea claims to have tested a new type of cruise missile for the first time.

The Pulhwasal-3-31 missile is still in the development stage, according to a report published on Thursday by the official Korean Central News Agency. The term “strategic” suggests that the missile will eventually be equipped with nuclear bombs.

There was no mention of the number of missiles fired , KCNA.

It stated, “The test fire has nothing to do with the regional situation and had no effect on the security of neighboring countries.”

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The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea announced on Wednesday morning that it has seen the firing of “several” cruise missiles from the western coast of North Korea.

The JCS announced that it was analyzing the launch, which came five days after Pyongyang’s first solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile test-firing and the test on January 19 of an underwater attack drone equipped with nuclear weapons.

It stated on Thursday that it believed the launch to be a test of new capabilities for the current missiles. In September 2021, North Korea conducted its first-ever test of a strategic cruise missile.

As North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues to advance his weapons development program and makes provocative threats of nuclear conflict with the United States and its allies in the region, tensions on the Korean peninsula have escalated in recent months.

North Korea’s cruise missiles are part of an expanding arsenal intended to overcome South Korea’s and Japan’s missile defenses. Cruise missiles are typically jet-propelled, travel at a lower altitude, and are more difficult to identify and intercept than ballistic missiles.

North Korea asserts that they are nuclearly capable and that their range is up to 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles), which encompasses US military installations in Japan.

Long-standing United Nations sanctions imposed due to North Korea’s nuclear program do not prohibit the testing of cruise missiles.

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The most recent launch occurred “in light of serious security situations” with North Korea, during an exercise conducted by South Korean special forces off the east coast.

The South Korean navy reports that the 10-day exercise will end on Thursday.

The commander of the exercise declared in a statement, “We will succeed in our mission to penetrate deeply into the enemy’s territory and completely neutralize them under any circumstances.”