North Korea says it tested cruise missiles designed to be fired from submarines

The launches extended a recent run in weapons demonstrations, including tests of various hypersonic missile systems on Sept. 20 and Oct. 3 that the North said were aimed at advancing its arsenal of weapons designed to overwhelm missile defenses in South Korea and Japan.

North Korea for years has been developing various ballistic and cruise missiles designed to be fired from underwater. It has also claimed progress in recent months in building a nuclear-powered submarine that it intends to arm with nuclear-capable weapons, as leader Kim Jong Un turns his focus to strengthening the navy after a decade of expanding the country’s ballistic missile program.

North Korea’s potential acquisition of a submarine capable of operating stealthily for extended periods and launching missiles from underwater would be a worrying development for its neighbors as such launches would be difficult to detect in advance. But there have been questions about whether North Korea, a heavily sanctioned and impoverished country, has the resources and technology needed to build such systems.

North Korea in recent weeks has also conducted live-fire drills and commissioned a new warship as leader Kim Jong Un continues to flaunt his nuclear weapons program while rejecting U.S. and South Korean offers to resume long-stalled diplomacy.

Kim in recent years has halted all diplomacy and cooperation with South Korea and described it as a permanent enemy amid a yearslong stalemate in larger nuclear negotiations with Washington.

He has so far rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls to revive their diplomacy, which broke down in 2019. His government has called for Washington to abandon its “hostile” policy toward Pyongyang and drop demands for North Korea’s denuclearization as a precondition for talks.

Kim Tong-hyung, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

North Korea says it tested cruise missiles designed to be fired from submarines

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