North Korea said on Monday it successfully tested a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying an extra-large warhead weighing 4.5 tonnes, Korean media reported.
A day earlier, South Korea reported North Korea had launched two ballistic missiles and said the second likely malfunctioned shortly after launch, exploding in flight over land.
The KCNA report did not specify whether two missiles were launched, and the projectile is mentioned in the singular.
The report also said the test of the new tactical ballistic missile, dubbed Hwasongpho-11 Da-4.5, was conducted with a simulated extra-large warhead to test the stability and accuracy of the flight. The report did not specify the nature of the simulated warhead.
South Korea resumed live-fire drills at firing ranges near the border with the DPRK for the first time in six years, which had been suspended as part of bilateral agreements to reduce tensions.
According to the army, the drills involving K9 and K105A1 self-propelled artillery units took place at forward firing ranges in Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do provinces.
What came before the extra-large warhead launch
The actions came nearly a month after South Korea completely suspended the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement on June 4 due to North Korean campaigns involving trash balloons and attempts to disrupt GPS signals near border islands.
Earlier on June 3, the press office of the South Korean presidential administration said that the ROK authorities would consider a proposal to suspend the inter-Korean military agreement until trust between Seoul and Pyongyang is restored. It was specified that this would allow military training to take place in the area of the demarcation line bounded by the September 19 military agreement.
On June 21, North Korean soldiers violated the border with South Korea. Pyongyang’s soldiers returned to their territory after warning shots were fired by the South Korean military.
Tensions between the DPRK and South Korea have not eased since the division of the Korean Peninsula into two states in 1948.
