N. Korea says it test-fired new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying super-large warhead

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- North Korea claimed Thursday it has successfully test-fired a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a super-large warhead, a day after South Korea said Pyongyang fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles.

The new missile, named the Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5, was tipped with a 4.5-ton super-large conventional warhead in the test-firing conducted Wednesday by the North's Missile Administration, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"Its test-fire was aimed at verifying the accuracy of hit at medium range of 320 km and explosive power of the super-large warhead with a missile loaded with such a warhead," the KCNA said.

The KCNA said the missile administration also conducted a test-fire of a strategic cruise missile whose performance has been highly upgraded for its combat use.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guided the test-fires and expressed great satisfaction, it said.

"The military and political situation in the region threatening the present state security environment indicates that the work for bolstering up the military capability for self-defence should be the most important affair of the country," he said.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Wednesday it detected the launches at about 6:50 a.m. from the North's Kaechon area in South Phyongan Province, north of Pyongyang, and the missiles flew about 400 kilometers.

The JCS did not provide further details, such as the number of missiles fired or where they landed.

A super-large warhead is among a list of high-tech weapons that Kim had vowed to develop at a party congress in 2021, including a spy military satellite and solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles.

In July, the North claimed it had successfully conducted a multiple warhead missile test, but South Korea's military at the time dismissed it as "deception," saying the launch ended in failure as the missile exploded in midair.

khj@yna.co.kr
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