North Korea announced on the 5th that it test-fired a new anti-aircraft missile into the East Sea on the 4th and also conducted a long-range strategic cruise missile demonstration firepower exercise.
The Korean Central News Agency reported on this day, "The General Missile Administration conducted a test launch on November 4 to confirm the design and technical characteristics of the new anti-aircraft missile complex."
General Kim Jeong-sik, a member of the Workers' Party's Central Military Committee and first vice-chairman of the Party's Central Committee, guided this test along with leading executives from the Missile Administration and the Defense Science Research Department.
The Korean Central News Agency said that through this test launch, "We confirmed the technical characteristics and reliability of the new aircraft material, the intelligent multiple complex guidance method, the target identification and propulsion ability of the anti-aircraft missile system, and the detection information processing device."
However, the missile's specific specifications, flight distance, test launch location, and target were not mentioned.
On the same day, North Korea also conducted a demonstration firepower exercise by the firepower division under the jurisdiction of the long-range strategic cruise missile unit in the eastern region.
The Korean Central News Agency claimed that the unit "perfectly performed a strike mission against a hypothetical airfield target with a long-range strategic cruise missile," and that "the tests and training are an extension of the mandatory activities of each level of national defense and military sectors to improve the technological advancement of combat systems and the combat reliability of strategic weapons."
The photo released by the news agency shows the launch and flight of a projectile believed to be a long-range strategic cruise missile, as well as the explosion and smoke that hit about 20 aircraft-shaped targets on the runway.
Experts assessed that this test launch and training were in response to the joint air exercise 'Freedom Flag' being conducted by the ROK-US Air Force.
Shin Jong-woo, Secretary General of the Korea Defense Security Forum (KODEF), said that the strategic cruise missile launched by North Korea is believed to be the 'Arrow Type 1' loaded with cluster bombs. "It appears to be a power test to separate the submunitions at low altitude and precisely hit and suppress a uniform area. Through this, the intention was revealed to destroy the runway or destroy the ROK-US air force gathered on the runway for the 'Elephant Walk', a large-scale takeoff exercise." analyzed.
Secretary-General Shin said, "The new surface-to-air missile was first unveiled at the 80th anniversary event of the North Korean Air Force in November last year, and its guidance part is similar to the Russian S-400 air defense missile. It appears to have been added in the center to enhance mobility to maximize the rate of turn during sharp turns."
Previously, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that North Korea launched several missiles into the East Sea from the Seondeok area in South Hamgyong Province the morning before. The military reportedly determined that the missile flew less than 300 km.
Jang Do-young, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Public Affairs Office, said at a regular briefing that day about the specific specifications and performance improvements of North Korea's missiles, "South Korea and the United States closely monitored the missiles from the preparation stage and detected and tracked the missiles immediately after launch," adding, "South Korea and the United States are conducting a detailed analysis of the exact specifications."
The Joint Chiefs of Staff usually announces to the media immediately upon detecting North Korea's ballistic missile launch, which violates UN Security Council sanctions, but according to North Korea's announcement, this time it announced to the media the launch of an anti-aircraft missile and a long-range cruise missile, not a ballistic missile.
It appears that in the early stages of detection, the possibility that these missiles were ballistic missiles was not ruled out.
Regarding this, Director Jang added, "The standards announced by the military have not changed, but at the beginning of the launch, there was a possibility that it was a missile of various series due to the detection specifications, so ROK and the United States were conducting a detailed analysis. Rather than making a definitive announcement while a detailed analysis is in progress, please understand that we shared the situation of the missile launch without exposing our military's surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities."
When asked whether he had weighed the possibility that it was a ballistic missile in the initial judgment stage immediately after launch, Director Jang responded, "There are limitations in telling you about the initial judgment and internal analysis process."
North Korea's latest missile test was also notable in that it took place on the day of the U.S. midterm elections and on a day when Kim Yo-jong, head of the Workers' Party's General Affairs Department, mentioned dialogue with the U.S. as an "option" in a statement.
Meanwhile, the details of this anti-aircraft missile test launch and cruise missile training were not published in the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party that North Koreans read.
North Korea has staged four demonstrations of force in the past week, including test-firing a 600 mm super-large multiple rocket launcher (KN-25) on the 29th of last month, a tactical ballistic missile equipped with a cluster warhead on the 31st of the same month, and a power evaluation test of a strategic cruise missile cluster warhead on the 2nd.
An official from the Ministry of Unification said that in light of North Korea's launch trend, which has continued four times since the 29th of last month, "there is a strong aspect of responding to the joint training between Korea and the United States (Freedom Flag) and the current external situation," and also cited the absence of related reports in the media seen by residents as the basis for such analysis.
