North Korea’s Kim Jong-un oversaw test of cruise missiles launched from submarine: state media

The two Pulhwasal-3-31 missiles “flew in the sky above the East Sea … to hit the island target” on Sunday, state-run news agency KCNA reported, adding that Kim Jong-un had “guided” the launch.

It said the missiles were in the air for 7,421 seconds and 7,445 seconds, but did not say how far they flew or whether they had been launched from above or below the water.

The Pulhwasal-3-31 is a new generation of strategic cruise missile that Pyongyang said it had only tested for the first time on Wednesday, firing multiple missiles toward the Yellow Sea.

Previous tests were carried out from older vessels, including from a submerged platform, rather than an actual submarine.

But analysts said it appeared they had been launched from above water level, thereby removing the stealth benefit of the weapon.

North Korea fires cruise missile salvo as Kim Jong-un ramps up rhetoric

North Korea also has a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) called the Pukguksong-3, with an estimated range of 1,900km. It announced a successful test of a new version of that missile in October 2021.

SLBMs can be launched from under the ocean, making them extremely mobile and hard to detect.

Proven SLBM capability would take North Korea’s arsenal to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a second-strike capability in the event of an attack.

North Korea has also conducted what it called simulations with its “first tactical nuclear attack submarine”.

Sunday’s test from the submarine “had no impact on the security of a neighbouring country and has nothing to do with the regional situation”, the KCNA report continued, adding that Kim had “expressed great satisfaction” with the launch.

‘At all levels’: China, N Korea vow deeper ties amid no let-up in missile tests

South Korea’s military said on Sunday that it had detected cruise missiles fired near waters around the North’s Sinpo area.

Pyongyang has accelerated weapons testing in the new year, including tests of what it called an “underwater nuclear weapon system” and a solid-fuelled hypersonic ballistic missile.

Unlike their ballistic counterparts, the testing of cruise missiles is not banned under current UN sanctions against Pyongyang.

Cruise missiles tend to be jet-propelled and fly at a lower altitude than more sophisticated ballistic missiles, making them harder to detect and intercept.

Recent months have seen a sharp deterioration in ties between the two Koreas, with both sides jettisoning key tension-reducing agreements, ramping up frontier security, and conducting live-fire drills along the border.