North Korea said Thursday it test-fired two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles a day earlier, describing the exercise as a check on naval readiness and the reliability of its deterrent.
The launches took place in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Pyongyang said the test was intended to assess underwater combat systems and train the navy for strategic missions, and claimed it posed no threat to neighboring countries. KCNA reported that senior military officials observed the exercise but gave few technical details about the missiles or how they were launched.
South Korea’s military said it tracked the launches and assessed that one missile was fired from a vertical launch system and the other from a torpedo tube. Analysts said the test points to efforts to develop a sea-based deterrent, but North Korea has yet to demonstrate the full operational capability of a modern missile submarine. The announcement follows North Korean ballistic-missile tests earlier in the week, adding to a series of recent weapons demonstrations.