North Korea tested tactical guided missiles on Monday, North Korea’s official news agency, the Korea Center News Agency (KCNA), said on Tuesday.
Although North Korea has been banned from testing ballistic missiles by a UN resolution, this is the fourth missile test since the beginning of the year.
The first two tests tested high-speed, post-firing hyper-sounding missiles, but two short-range ballistic missiles were fired from railway platforms on Friday.
In the ten years since North Korea’s leader Kim Jongun came to power, international progress has been made in the development of military technology, despite international sanctions.
North Korea conducted several major weapons tests last year, despite the economic difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The South Korean army said on Monday that North Korea had fired two ballistic missiles.
Missiles from Pyongyang Airport were fired eastward, the South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, saying they were allegedly short-range ballistic missiles.
The KCNA reports today that the North Korean Academy of Defense Sciences has conducted a test of tactical guided missiles. The missiles fired from the west of the country and hit the target on the island’s east coast.
“The purpose of the test was to selectively evaluate the tactical guided missiles that are being manufactured and deployed and to test the accuracy of the weapons system,” the KCNA reported.
The test “confirmed the accuracy, safety and effectiveness of the weapons system in production,” the agency said.
South Korean experts believe that the frequent missile tests are a demonstration of Pyongyang’s power, as well as a desire to prove their ability to fire missiles from various platforms.
The United States has condemned North Korea for such “illegal and destabilizing activities” and called on Pyongyang to engage in dialogue.
The South Korean Ministry of Defense said today that it sees all North Korean missile tests as a direct and serious threat, but stressed that the South Korean army is capable of intercepting the missiles.
The UN spokesman also expressed concern about North Korea’s missile tests, calling on all parties to return to the negotiating table to ease tensions and promote verifiable nuclear disarmament on the Korean Peninsula.
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