North Korea’s Kim conducts long-range cruise missile tests over the West Sea
North Korea announced that it carried out a long-range strategic cruise missile launch exercise over the West on Sunday, as it continues to demonstrate its weapons capabilities amid ongoing regional tensions.
Leader Kim Jong Un observed the exercise, which was conducted to assess the counterattack preparedness and combat abilities of long-range missile units, train operators in maneuvering and fire-mission protocols, and verify the reliability of the strategic weapons system, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Monday.
The strategic cruise missiles traveled along pre-set paths over waters off the country’s west coast for 10,199 seconds and 10,203 seconds — roughly 2 hours and 50 minutes each — before hitting their targets, the state news agency stated.
According to the report, Kim said the exercise results provided practical confirmation and a clear showcase of the reliability and combat strength of North Korea’s strategic counterattack capabilities, and he expressed “great satisfaction” with the outcome.
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He added that regularly testing the reliability and rapid response readiness of components of the country’s nuclear deterrent, and continuing to display their power, amounts to a responsible exercise of self-defense and a means of preventing war in the current security environment.
Kim stressed that the ruling party and government will keep making all-out efforts to further strengthen and expand the country’s nuclear combat forces, KCNA reported.