North Korea reports test-firing of ‘tactical’ ballistic missile to improve weapons systems

Seoul, Oct 13 (IANS) North Korea has test-fired a tactical ballistic missile to upgrade a key component of its weapons systems, which it called a “big success,” the country’s state media reported on Tuesday.

The report came a day after South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) detected multiple ballistic missiles launched from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea.

North Korea’s missile administration “test-fired a tactical ballistic missile on October 12 to confirm the success in the research for the technical upgrading of an important core element,” reports Yonhap, citing the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The administration claimed that the upgrade “was a big success heralding an important change in improving the performance and sophistication of all offensive weapon systems,” it added, describing the test as part of regular activities.

The North did not disclose further details about the test-firing.

The JCS earlier noted that North Korea launched multiple types of ballistic missiles, with one specific kind of missile flying more than 900 kilometres, and that South Korean and US authorities were conducting a detailed analysis of their specifications.

“They may have fired a short-range ballistic missile at maximum range, or it is also possible that they fired a medium-range ballistic missile at a reduced range,” JCS spokesperson Capt. Jang Do-young said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

Short-range ballistic missiles have a range of between 300 and 1,000 km, while medium-range ballistic missiles span from 1,000 to 3,000 km.

Jang reiterated that South Korea and the U.S. maintain a robust combined defence posture and that they are “fully capable” of detecting and intercepting the missiles recently launched by the North.

Shortly after Monday’s missile launch, Japan’s defence ministry said the North fired at least two ballistic missiles, flying about 220 km and more than 910 km, respectively.

U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) said Monday that North Korea’s latest launches involved two ballistic missiles.

Monday’s launches marked the North’s 16th ballistic missile launch of the year, coming nine days after its previous launch on October 3.

They also came four days after South Korea publicly announced its first, and successful, test-firing of a homegrown hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) in an event also attended by President Lee Jae Myung.

Hypersonic missiles are often described as potential “game changers” on the battlefield, as they travel at speeds of Mach 5 or faster and can manoeuvre along unconventional trajectories, making them difficult to track and intercept.

The South Korean government’s disclosure of the advanced weapons test was seen as an apparent demonstration of its deterrence capabilities against North Korea following a land mine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on September 21 that injured three South Korean soldiers.

–IANS

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