North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday oversaw the test-firing of submarine-launched cruise missiles and reviewed a project to build a nuclear-powered submarine, state media reported, as per South Korea-based Yonhap News Agency.
The new strategic cruise missile Pulhwasal-3-31 precisely hit preset targets after flying over the East Sea for 7,421 seconds and 7,445 seconds after being launched from a submarine, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, suggesting the test involved two missiles.
It did not give further details, such as their flight distances.
The South Korean military on Sunday said it had detected the North’s launch of several cruise missiles at around 8 am over waters near the eastern port city of Shinpo, where a shipyard to build a North Korean submarine is located.
As per the Yonhap News Agency, the Pulhwasal-3-31 is a new cruise missile that the North test-fired for the first time on Wednesday. Just four days after the first launch, North Korea disclosed that the missile is a submarine-launched cruise missile.
Cruise missiles fly low and manoeuvre, making them better at evading missile defences.
Kim said that “the nuclear weaponization of the navy is an urgent task of the times and a core requirement for building the state nuclear strategic force,” the KCNA said, as per Yonhap News Agency.
“He set forth the important tasks arising in realising the nuclear weaponization of the navy and expanding the sphere of operation of the state nuclear deterrence in a diversified way,” it said.
The North’s leader also discussed issues related to the building of a nuclear-powered submarine and other new types of warships.
