North Korea conducted its first “strategic” test of a new Pulhwasal-3-31 cruise missile, expanding its military capabilities amid growing tensions with the United States and neighbouring countries.
The report emerged in North Korean media on Thursday, a day after South Korea’s military claimed to have detected North Korea firing several cruise missiles into waters off its west coast.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) claimed the Pulhwasal-3-31 missile was still under development and that the launch posed no threat to its neighbours. The country called the missile “strategic,” implying an intention to arm them with nuclear weapons.
Lee Sung-joon, spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the missiles travelled a shorter distance than North Korea’s previous cruise missile counterparts. Lee suggests the North is trying to improve the performance of existing systems.
The cruise missile launches were North Korea’s second known test this year, following the test firing of the country’s first solid-fuel medium-range ballistic missile on January 14. Yang Uk, an analyst at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said North Korea was trying to increase pressure on rivals by hinting at a nuclear weapons arsenal.
The demonstration of the new weapons systems came amid a slowdown in short-range ballistic missile tests, which could indicate a stockpile shortage as North Korea allegedly started exporting them, Yang argued.
US and South Korean officials accused North Korea of supplying Russia with artillery shells, missiles and other materials for the war in Ukraine, presumably in exchange for economic aid and military technology.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who travelled to a Russian space centre in September to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, has sought to strengthen ties with Moscow in an attempt to break out of isolation and confront Washington.
Both Pyongyang and Moscow deny that North Korea has sent weapons to Russia.
