North Korea reports test-firing new air defense system and long-range cruise missile
North Korea has test-fired a new air defense missile system and conducted a strike drill with a long-range strategic cruise missile, state media reported Thursday, marking Pyongyang's fourth weapons test in a week, Yonhap reported.
The North's report came after South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) detected the North firing multiple missiles toward the East Sea from the Sondok area in South Hamgyong Province early Wednesday.
The Missile Administration's test of a new air defense missile system was aimed at confirming its technical capabilities, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"The test-fire proved the technical specifications and reliability of the new material and intelligent multiple guided mode of the projectile, target identification and tracking capability of the air-defense missile system and its detection information processing device," it said.
In addition, a firepower subunit of the long-range strategic cruise missile unit in the eastern area staged a strike drill on the same day, using a long-range strategic cruise missile against a virtual airport target, according to the report.
The JCS earlier said the missiles flew less than 300 kilometers, with authorities leaving open the possibility that they involved a close-range ballistic missile.
Wednesday's launch came as Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, issued back-to-back statements this week rejecting a U.S. investigation that blamed the North for stealing more than US$6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. It also coincided with the U.S. midterm elections, widely seen as a referendum on U.S. President Donald Trump halfway into his second term.
Earlier, Qazinform reported that Switzerland reopened its diplomatic office in Pyongyang.
