North Korean state media reported that the country approved a test of its new long-range cruise missile. The launch took place over the weekend, and finally, the missile hit its target.
- North Korea’s state KCNA news agency reported that the tests took almost two days, on Saturday and Sunday. As part of its tests, the missiles did targets around 1,500 km (930 miles) away from the launch site and fell into the country’s territorial waters.
- Pyongyang greeted the tests as success. The launch has confirmed all the technical features of the new weapon and includes the power of its impulsion system, the missile’s controllability, and its accuracy.
- The missile is designed to serve as yet another “effective deterrence means” to “ensure the security” of the country while “strongly suppressing the military movements of hostile forces,” KCNA said.
- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un refused to oversee the launch. Later, a high-profile party and military officials were present at the tests.
- On the day before of US special representative for North Korea Sung Kim’s visit to Japan next week, he is set to meet with South Korean and Japanese officials to discuss the denuclearization issue.
- The North’s continuation of testing activity is likely an attempt at pressuring the Biden administration over the diplomatic freeze after Kim failed to influence his arsenal for economic benefits during the presidency of Donald Trump. Even Pyongyang often fell vulnerable to restart testing of long-range missiles.
- Biden’s administration has said it is open to diplomacy to achieve North Korea’s denuclearization, although they didn’t show any willingness to make liberal authorizations.
- Sung Kim, the US envoy for North Korea, said in August in Seoul that he was ready to meet North Korean officials “anywhere, at any time.”
- A reactivation of inter-Korean hotlines in July raised hopes for a restart of the negotiations. Still, the North stopped answering calls as annual South Korea-US military exercises began last month, which Pyongyang had warned could trigger a security crisis.
- North Korean state media published photos of a projectile fired from a launcher truck and an apparent missile with wings and tail fins traveling in the air.
