North Korea Unveils New Air-Defense Missile System in Latest Weapons Demonstration

• The test included a strategic cruise missile strike drill.
• The weapons shown include cluster munitions and hypersonic missiles.

SEOUL — North Korea test-fired a newly designed air-defense missile system and conducted a strategic cruise-missile strike drill, state media reported Thursday, marking the latest display of its advancing military capabilities.

Wednesday’s test occurred amid a flurry of weapons demonstrations in recent weeks that have showcased cluster munitions, attack drones, a precision-guided torpedo system, and an intermediate-range hypersonic missile. South Korea’s military detected several missiles launched from the North’s Sondok area into the Sea of Japan.

Tensions remain elevated on the peninsula. A land-mine dispute has sent inter-Korean relations plummeting, while Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister signaled this week that Pyongyang has little appetite for renewed talks with the United States.

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated Thursday that the new air-defense system was test-fired to verify its technical specifications. “The test-fire proved the technical specifications and reliability of the new material and intelligent multiple guided mode of the projectile,” KCNA reported, without elaborating on the composition of the new material. The agency added that the test also demonstrated the system’s ability to identify and track targets, as well as the reliability of its detection data processing device.

KCNA also reported that a firepower sub-unit of a long-range strategic cruise-missile unit in eastern North Korea staged a separate strike drill on Wednesday. The unit “perfectly performed its mission to strike a virtual airport target with a long-range strategic cruise missile,” according to state media.

The two exercises were aimed at maintaining weapons systems “on a technically high level and improve the combat reliability of the strategic weapon,” KCNA added. Unlike ballistic missile launches, North Korean cruise missile tests are not prohibited by UN Security Council sanctions.

North Korea has a history of timing missile launches around U.S. elections, widely interpreted as a show of force, including during the midterms four years ago and the presidential election two years ago.

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