North Korea tests sea-to-land strategic cruise missiles

PYONGYANG: North Korea recently executed a test involving strategic guided cruise missiles designed for sea-to-surface operations,  according to a report from the state-run news agency KNCA on Sunday.

The agency claimed that the missiles accurately struck their intended targets during the test, which was supervised by the North Korean Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un, himself.

Read more: North Korea’s assembly meets but no mention of unification

The hermit state’s supreme leader stated that the military’s deterrence capabilities were being improved more effectively.

The KNCA report indicated that the missile travelled along complex elliptical and figure-eight trajectories. It covered a distance of 1,500 kilometres before successfully hitting their targets.

The report also mentioned that there was “no adverse effect on the security of neighbouring nations”. However, the exact location of the strategic cruise missiles launch from North Korea was not specified.

The latest missile test is the first one since the mercurial tempered US president, Donald Trump, started his second term in the White House. Just before his inauguration, North Korea had conducted several launches of short-range ballistic missiles into the ocean.

In a recent interview, the US president talked about his openness to reconnect with the North Korean dictator, referring to him as a “smart” person.

The two Koreas remain in a state of technical warfare, as the conflict that spanned from 1950 to 1953 concluded with an armistice rather than a formal peace agreement. Tensions between Pyongyang and Seoul have recently reached a new low, with North Korea carrying out several ballistic missile tests.

The impeached South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, failed coup attempt involved falsely implicating his political rivals cooperating with the North Korean government, the latter of whom blasted the disgraced Yoon for the allegations.

KNCA also released a statement from North Korea’s foreign ministry condemning the US and South Korea for their recent joint military exercises. The statement said that the DPRK would response to the US with the most stringent countermeasures as long as it felt its sovereignty and security were being threatened.

Such collaborative military drills are frequently denounced by North Korea, which perceives them as rehearsals for invasion. Last year, the hermit state announced the test of what it claimed to be its most advanced solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and subsequently launched a series of short-range ballistic missiles.

Read more: South Korea prosecutors renew request for longer detention for Yoon

Intelligence reports from the US and South Korea suggest that North Korea has started deploying thousands of troops to assist Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

According to several media outlets, over 10,000 North Korean soldiers were deployed to Russian border with Ukraine. Ukrainian media also released footage and evidence of several North Korean soldiers near or in its territory, some of whom committed suicide than risk capture.