Manila:North Korea announced on Thursday that it conducted tests of two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles in the East Sea on the previous day.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the purpose of the test-fire was to assess the current operational readiness of the underwater combat systems. The tests were also meant to enhance the Navy's ability to perform strategic missions, demonstrating the high reliability and capability of North Korea's war deterrents, as stated by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim Jong-sik, a member of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, oversaw the tests alongside Jang Chang-ha, director-general of the Missile Administration, and engineers from the Navy's underwater weapon system division. Notably, the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's most widely circulated newspaper, did not cover the missile launch.
These missile tests follow closely after North Korea's test-firing of tactical ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea earlier in the week. The North claimed that this recent launch was intended to "confirm the success in the research for the technical upgrading of an important core element."