North Korea test-fired the Hwasong-11 Ra surface-to-surface tactical ballistic missile on Sunday attended by leader Kim Jong-un to evaluate warhead capabilities, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday. South Korea's military detected the launches from the Sinpho area toward the East Sea. Seoul condemned the action as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Monday that North Korea fired the Hwasong-11 Ra missile from the Sinpho area at around 6:10 a.m. Sunday toward the East Sea. The test evaluated the power of the "cluster bomb warhead and fragmentation mine warhead." Five missiles struck a target area near an island about 136 kilometers away with "very high density," demonstrating their combat capability, KCNA said.
Kim Jong-un expressed "great satisfaction" with the test-launch, stating, "It is of weighty significance ... to boost the high-density striking capability to quell a specific target area, as well as the high-precision striking capability."
"The development and introduction of different cluster bomb warheads can meet the operational demand of the Korean People's Army in a more satisfactory and effective way," the report added. Kim encouraged weapons development teams to pursue ultra-modern technologies for army preparedness.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) detected multiple short-range ballistic missiles flying about 140 kilometers and affirmed readiness under the South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture. The Office of the National Security condemned the launch as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and called for an immediate halt to provocations.
This followed North Korea's multiple short-range ballistic missile launches on April 8.
