North Korea Conducts Test on New ‘Super-Large Warhead’: State Media
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – North Korea has conducted a test on a “super-large warhead” designed for a strategic cruise missile, state media reported, adding that it also launched a new type of anti-aircraft missile.
“The DPRK Missile Administration has conducted a power test of a super-large warhead designed for ‘Hwasal-1 Ra-3’ strategic cruise missile”, KCNA news agency reported on Saturday, referring to North Korea by an abbreviation for its official name – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Al Jazeera reported.
North Korea also carried out a test launch on Friday afternoon of a “Pyoljji-1-2”, which state media said was a “new-type anti-aircraft missile”.
KCNA added that “a certain goal was attained” through the test without providing further details.
The weapons tests were part of the “regular activities of the administration and its affiliated defense science institutes”, KCNA reported, referencing the operation of “new-type weapon systems”.
The tests “had nothing to do with the surrounding situation”, KCNA added, but did not give any further information.
In early April, North Korea said it had tested a new medium-to-long-range solid-fuel hypersonic missile, with state media sharing a video of it being launched as leader Kim Jong Un looked on.
Cruise missiles are among a growing collection of North Korean weapons designed to overwhelm regional missile defenses. They supplement the North’s vast arsenal of ballistic missiles, including intercontinental variants, which are said to be aimed at the continental United States.
Analysts say anti-aircraft missile technology is an area where North Korea could benefit from its deepening military cooperation with Russia, as the two countries align in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the US.
Since its second nuclear test in 2009, Pyongyang has been under heavy international sanctions, but the development of its nuclear and weapons programs has continued unabated.
