North Korea has recently conducted a series of weapons tests, with the latest being the launch of four strategic cruise missiles. The missiles were fired from Kim Chaek City in North Hamgyong Province and flew for over 10,000 seconds before hitting their target in the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the tests were meant to demonstrate North Korea’s ability to conduct a nuclear counterattack.
The tests come as the United States and South Korea are conducting a simulated military exercise in Washington, DC, to sharpen their response to North Korean nuclear threats. North Korea first tested a long-range cruise missile system in September 2021 and has since described the weapons as “strategic,” suggesting that they are being developed with the intent to arm them with nuclear warheads.
The KCNA said that the latest launches successfully demonstrated the war readiness of North Korea’s nuclear combat forces, which are strengthening their “lethal nuclear counterattack capabilities against hostile forces in all directions.” South Korea and Japan have not yet confirmed the tests, although they often detect and publicly report North Korean launches.
Despite longstanding United Nations sanctions over its nuclear weapons programmes, North Korea has continued to develop and mass produce new missiles. Last weekend, it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile and on Monday launched a pair of short-range missiles into the sea off its eastern coast. These recent tests are a reminder of North Korea’s growing military capabilities and its willingness to use them to threaten its enemies.