North Korea announced that it has successfully tested a new type of tactical ballistic missile equipped with a super-large warhead. The South Korean military authorities evaluated that one of the two missiles fired by North Korea failed to launch and fell near Pyongyang with a high probability.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated on the 2nd, “The Missile General Bureau of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea successfully conducted a test launch of the new tactical ballistic missile Hwasong-11Da-4.5 on the 1st.”
The agency described this new missile as a “tactical ballistic missile equipped with a 4.5-ton super-large warhead,” adding, “The test launch was conducted with a missile equipped with a weight-simulated warhead to confirm flight stability and accuracy at the maximum range of 500 km (approx. 311 miles) and minimum range of 90 km (approx. 56 miles).”
They noted that the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea reported the test results from the Missile General Bureau to the Party Central Committee Plenary Meeting, underscoring the significant implications of these findings. They clarified that testing the special weapons system is routine for the DPRK’s Missile General Bureau and its associated defense science research institutes.
Furthermore, they mentioned that the Missile General Bureau announced plans for a test launch in July. This test aims to verify the new tactical ballistic missile’s 250 km (approximately 155 miles) medium-range flight characteristics, accuracy rate, and explosive power of the super-large warhead, Hwasong-11Da-4.5.
Earlier, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff captured two ballistic missiles fired by North Korea in the northeastern direction from Changyon, South Hwanghae Province, early in the morning of the previous day. They were all presumed to be the Hwasong-11 type (KN-23) short-range ballistic missiles.
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