Seoul [South Korea], October 29 (ANI): North Korea announced on Wednesday that it had test-fired sea-to-surface strategic cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea on Tuesday, ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, South Korean media outlet Yonhap News Agency reported.
Citing the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Yonhap said the cruise missiles—improved for ship-based launches—were fired vertically and flew for more than 7,800 seconds along a pre-set route over the Yellow Sea to destroy their intended target.
The report noted that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not personally oversee the test. State media targeting domestic audiences, including the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, made no mention of the launch.
Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, said the test demonstrated progress in making the country’s nuclear forces more “practical.”
“It is an extension of exercising the war deterrent and an act of exercising it in a more responsible manner to continuously test the reliability of different strategic offensive means and impress their abilities upon the enemies,” Pak said, as cited by Yonhap. He emphasized the need to steadily strengthen North Korea’s combat capability.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the missile launch was detected at 3 p.m. the previous day. The JCS said further analysis was underway in coordination with US intelligence authorities.
Experts cited by Yonhap estimated the missiles to be a variant of the Hwasal-type cruise missiles unveiled during North Korea’s annual defense exhibition in Pyongyang earlier this month.
Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, noted that the missiles’ flight time indicated a range of about 1,500 kilometers, potentially putting both Japan and China within reach if launched from the Yellow Sea.
The missile test came amid North Korea’s continued silence on Trump’s offer for renewed talks. Yonhap reported that the launch coincided with Trump’s upcoming visit to South Korea from October 29 to 30 for the APEC meetings, during which he expressed interest in meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (ANI)
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