North Korea said it successfully test-fired a short-range, ground-to-ground ballistic missile equipped with a cluster munition warhead.
North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on April 20 that the Missile General Bureau conducted a test launch on April 19 to evaluate the warhead of an upgraded ground-to-ground tactical ballistic missile designated Hwasongpho-11ra.
KCNA said the test was intended to verify the characteristics and destructive effects of dispersal (cluster) warheads and fragmentation-mine warheads when applied to tactical ballistic missiles.
The Hwasongpho-11 — known internationally as the KN-23 and frequently compared to the Russian Iskander — appeared to carry both a cluster warhead and a fragmentation-mine warhead designed to maximize lethality with submunitions or metal fragments.
KCNA claimed the five tactical ballistic missiles it fired struck a target zone centered on an island at a range of 136 km (about 84.5 miles), densely impacting an area of roughly 12.5–13 hectares (about 30.9–32.1 acres).
KCNA said Kim Jong Un observed the test in person with his daughter Ju-ae and expressed “great satisfaction” with the results.
Kim was quoted as saying that developing and fielding dispersal warheads for different purposes will allow the military to meet operational needs more efficiently. He added that, alongside precision-strike capability, boosting the ability to deliver high-density suppression strikes against specific target areas holds significant military value.
Earlier, South Korea’s military said North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles from the Sinpo area in South Hamgyong Province into the East Sea the previous day; the missiles traveled about 140 km (roughly 87 miles).
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