North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday oversaw test-fires of submarine-launched cruise missiles and reviewed a project to build a nuclear-powered submarine, state media reported, according to South Korea-based Yonhap news agency.
The new Pulhwasal-3-31 strategic cruise missile accurately hit predetermined 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, adding that the test included two rockets.
It did not provide other details such as their flight distance.
South Korea’s military said on Sunday it had detected North Korea firing several cruise missiles over waters near the eastern port city of Shinpo, home to a shipyard for the construction of a North Korean submarine, around 8 a.m.
According to the Yonhap news agency, the Pulhwasal-3-31 is a new cruise missile that the North tested for the first time on Wednesday. Just four days after the first launch, North Korea revealed that it was a cruise missile launched from a submarine.
Cruise missiles fly low and maneuver so they are better at evading missile defenses.
Kim said that “navy nuclear weapons are an urgent task of the times and a basic requirement for building the state’s nuclear strategic power,” KCNA reported, according to Yonhap News Agency.
“He outlined the important tasks that result from the realization of the Navy’s nuclear weapons and the diversified expansion of the sphere of influence of the state’s nuclear deterrence,” it said.
The North’s leader also discussed issues related to the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine and other new types of warships.
Image Source: The Telegraph
