North Korea test-fired two “strategic” long-range cruise missiles into the sea, state media said, in a drill overseen by leader Kim Jong Un that he framed as part of an “unlimited and sustained” expansion of the country’s nuclear forces.
The launches took place over the Yellow Sea and mark the first reported test of long-range cruise missiles since early November, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Cruise missiles labeled “strategic” by Pyongyang are typically understood by analysts to be designed to carry nuclear warheads, though KCNA did not disclose flight details such as range or altitude.
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South Korea’s military detected multiple missiles launched from the Sunan area near Pyongyang, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was not immediately clear whether the projectiles detected by Seoul were the same type as those described by KCNA.
Kim, who personally directed the exercise, used the event to reiterate his government’s focus on nuclear-force development. The ruling party and state, he said, “would as ever devote all their efforts to the unlimited and sustained development of the state nuclear combat force,” KCNA reported.
The test underscores the steady pace of North Korea’s weapons activity. The country staged a ballistic missile launch on Nov. 6, and has significantly expanded testing in recent years, trialing systems that fly at varied altitudes and trajectories in an apparent effort to complicate interception by U.S. and South Korean defenses.
Analysts say the push serves multiple purposes: honing precision strike capability, signaling defiance toward Washington and Seoul, and validating weapons platforms that could be exported, including to Russia. The uptick in testing coincides with deepening isolation and sanctions pressure following the collapse of Kim’s 2019 summit with then-U.S. President Donald Trump over the scope of denuclearization steps and sanctions relief.
Since that breakdown, Pyongyang has declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state and reoriented doctrine to emphasize rapid, preemptive use of tactical and strategic weapons if it deems its leadership or command-and-control at risk. In that context, long-range cruise missiles offer a different threat profile from ballistic missiles: they typically fly lower, can maneuver in flight and may evade radar for longer, complicating detection and interception.
The new launches add to a year in which North Korea has showcased a range of delivery systems across multiple domains, from short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles to cruise missiles fired from land and sea. While KCNA often highlights the “strategic” character of such tests, independent verification of warhead capability is not available, and the exact performance characteristics of North Korea’s cruise missiles remain uncertain.
The United States and South Korea have repeatedly condemned North Korea’s missile activity as violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions and have expanded joint military drills in response. Pyongyang, in turn, frames those exercises as hostile rehearsals and cites them to justify weapons development it describes as defensive.
No timetable for further tests was given, but Kim’s remarks suggest additional demonstrations are likely as North Korea seeks to refine survivable, diversified strike options. For regional militaries, each launch offers new data points—and new challenges—for tracking, deterrence and missile defense against a growing and more complex arsenal.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
