Tactical Guided Missile Launch Confirmation, North Korea: Weapon System Accuracy Verification

Illustration of North Korea's missile test launch. (Source: KCNA)

JAKARTA - North Korea fired a tactical missile on Monday, state media KCNA said on Tuesday, the latest in a recent series of tests highlighting its thriving missile program amid stalled denuclearization talks.

The missile test was North Korea's fourth in 2022, with the previous two launches involving high-speed, maneuverable "hypersonic missiles" after liftoff. As well as another test on Friday using a pair of SRBMs fired from a train carriage.

South Korea's military said on Monday that North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) from the airport in its capital, Pyongyang, which flew about 380 km (236 miles) to a maximum altitude of 42 km (26 miles).

The Academy of Defense Sciences conducted a test of a tactical missile from the west of the country, and it successfully hit an island target off the east coast, the official KCNA news agency said on Tuesday, without elaborating.

"The test aims to selectively evaluate the manufactured and deployed tactical missiles and to verify the accuracy of the weapons systems," KCNA said.

"This confirms the accuracy, safety and efficiency of operation of the weapon system under production."

The unusually fast launch sequence has drawn criticism from the United States and a push for new UN sanctions. Meanwhile, Pyongyang warned of stronger action, raising the specter of a return to a period of "fire and fury" threats in 2017.

US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim urged Pyongyang to "cease its unlawful and destabilizing activities", reopening dialogue, saying he was open to meeting "without preconditions," the State Department said after a phone call with his Korean counterparts. South and Japan.

South Korea's defense ministry said Tuesday it considers all North Korean missile launches a "direct and serious threat," but its military was able to detect and intercept them.

Separately, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric also called North Korea's tests "increasingly worrying" during the briefing, calling on all parties to return to talks to defuse tensions and promote "a highly verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

Long before, North Korea used Sunan Airport to test the Hwasong-12 medium-range ballistic missile (IRBM) in 2017, with leader Kim Jong Un present.

North Korea has not tested a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or nuclear weapon since 2017, when a diplomatic rush with Washington began in 2018.

However, North Korea began testing new SRBM designs after denuclearization talks stalled and slipped back. deadlock after a failed summit in 2019.

Please note, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the latest test. A photo released by KCNA shows a missile rising into the sky above a cloud of dust, spouting flames.

Meanwhile, Kim Dong-yup, a former South Korean Navy officer who teaches at Seoul's Kyungnam University, said North Korea appears to have fired a KN-24 SRBM, which was last tested in March 2020 and flew 410 km (255 miles) to its maximum altitude. 50 km (31 miles).

The KN-24 resembles the US Army's MGM-140 Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), designed to evade missile defenses and perform precision strikes.

"North Korea appears to have deployed and started mass production of the KN-24. But basically, the test could be another show of force to underscore the warnings of their recent actions," Kim said, referring to the KCNA report.