North Korea tests cluster bombs in latest ballistic missile launch

Kim Jong-un supervised North Korea’s test of Hwasong-11 ballistic missiles with cluster bomb warheads, showcasing enhanced strike capability. South Korea condemned the launch as a UN sanctions violation, raising regional security concerns

Seoul: North Korea has tested cluster bombs in its latest launch of surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, supervised by leader Kim Jong-un, state media reported Monday.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published the report of the launch of the Hwasong-11 Ra tactical ballistic missile a day after South Korea’s military detected multiple short-range ballistic missiles launched toward the East Sea at around 6:10 a.m. from North Korea’s Sinpho area.

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The KCNA said the purpose of the test-launch was to evaluate the power of the “cluster bomb warhead and fragmentation mine warhead” fitted to the weapon system. Five missiles struck a target area near an island measuring about 13 hectares some 136 kilometres away with “very high density,” fully demonstrating their combat capability, the KCNA report said.

Photos released showed Kim’s daughter Ju-ae, who is believed to be being groomed as his successor, accompanying him at Sunday’s weapon test. Kim expressed “great satisfaction” over the test-launch, saying, “It is of weighty significance … to boost the high-density striking capability to quell a specific target area, as well as the high-precision striking capability.” “The development and introduction of different cluster bomb warheads can meet the operational demand of the Korean People’s Army in a more satisfactory and effective way,” the report added.

The leader also encouraged science research groups responsible for weapons development, expressing hope that they would continue their “important undertakings to acquire and update various ultra-modern technologies necessary for the combat preparedness of our army.”

Attending the test launch alongside Kim were Kim Jong-sik, a member of the Central Military Commission; Jang Chang-ha, chief of the Missile Administration; and front-line military unit commanders.

Sunday’s launch followed the North’s test-firing of multiple short-range ballistic missiles on April 8. State media said at the time the country test-fired a tactical ballistic missile tipped with a cluster bomb warhead, claiming it could “reduce to ashes” targeted areas with the highest-density power.

South Korea’s Office of National Security has condemned the latest North Korean missile launch as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions and called for an immediate halt to the North’s missile provocations.

A cluster bomb releases dozens to hundreds of submunitions, allowing it to strike multiple targets over a wide area. The weapon has been used by Iran in the ongoing Middle East conflict, posing a challenge to Israel’s air defense system.

The North’s report suggests that Sunday’s test involved the launch of cluster bombs and airborne fragmentation mines fitted to missile warheads. The KCNA also released photos of a missile being launched from the edge of a seawall and releasing cluster bombs that hit an islet, marking the first time the country has disclosed images of a cluster bomb test, Yonhap news agency reported.

It also represents the North’s first official reference to the Hwasong-11 Ra ballistic missile, which it had previously referred to as a new tactical ballistic missile or a tactical guided missile. The 136-km range demonstrated in Sunday’s launch would reach Seoul and as far as the US military base in Pyeongtaek and Osan Air Base if fired southward, said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification.

The missile fills the gap in range between the North’s multiple rocket launchers and short-range missiles, allowing it to target the Seoul metropolitan area, he said. Yoon Min-ho, the South Korean unification ministry’s spokesperson, assessed that the test launch appears to be part of the North’s efforts to advance a defence development plan adopted at the recent ninth congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.

During the congress, Kim called for reinforcing the deployment of multiple rocket launchers and tactical missiles to counter South Korea, he noted. The spokesman also said he took note of the rare attendance of a number of military commanders in charge of frontline units at the test.