North Korea repeatedly demonstrated its wide-area lethality and precision strike capabilities by conducting cluster warhead tests using ballistic and cruise missiles.
The Korean Central News Agency reported on the 3rd that the General Missile Administration conducted a power evaluation test and a vertical strike flight characteristics test of the strategic cruise missile 'Sanpo Combat Department' the previous day.
Two days after conducting a test to evaluate the power of the distributed combat unit (cluster bomb warhead) mounted on a tactical ballistic missile on the 31st of last month, the target of application was expanded to include cruise missiles and an additional test was conducted.
According to the news agency, the launch test that day was led by General Kim Jeong-sik, a member of the Workers' Party's Central Military Committee and first vice-chairman of the Party's Central Committee.
Announcing the test results, the Combat Department Research Center under the Missile Directorate claimed, "It has been confirmed that the medium-sized distributed artillery combat unit mounted on a cruise missile can devastate a target area of 5 to 6 intelligence units (1 intelligence is approximately 9,917㎡, or approximately 1 ha) with ultra-high density." Numbers 5 to 6 are the area equivalent to 7 to 8 soccer fields.
The scatter combat unit refers to a cluster bomb, which contains several submunitions (small bombs) inside a single warhead. It is a weapon that explodes in the air and spreads submunitions in all directions, maximizing its lethality.
The Cruise Missile System Research Institute of North Korea's Missile General Directorate also claimed, "By improving the terminal maneuver characteristics of the cruise missile by considering the natural and geographical characteristics of the weapon system application area, we have completed the vertical strike capability for the target."
Photos released through the Korean Central News Agency on this day showed a scene where a missile spreads submunitions on the sea to the surface, and a scene where a missile strikes facilities presumed to be replicas of South Korean military facilities, such as artillery positions and ammunition depots, in an almost vertical direction.
Shin Jong-woo, Secretary General of the Korea Defense Security Forum (KODEF), commented on North Korea's announcement that it has completed a 'vertical strike capability', saying, "The intention is to precisely strike targets such as underground facilities and tunnel entrances of the South Korean military that are difficult to attack horizontally or diagonally. This is a method of maximizing destructive power by using the acceleration of gravity to increase the speed as much as possible before hitting the target."
Secretary-General Shin estimated that the cruise missiles tested by North Korea on this day were 'Arrow' series cruise missiles equipped with high-yield warheads and cluster bomb warheads, respectively.
Regarding the test results announced by North Korea on this day, the military said, "We maintain the ability and posture to overwhelmingly respond to any provocation by North Korea."
Jang Do-young, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Public Affairs Office, received a related question at the regular briefing on this day and emphasized, "Our military is closely watching related trends in North Korea and is currently conducting a detailed analysis between South Korea and the United States."
Regarding North Korea's serial tests of cluster bombs, he emphasized, "Our military has developed precision strike capabilities and related weapon systems 20 years ago that surpass the technology claimed by North Korea from a technical standpoint, and maintains a constant operational readiness."
Regarding the military's failure to notify the media in real time of North Korea's missile launch test the day before, he emphasized, "It is not appropriate to individually check whether or not a specific projectile was captured as it would result in exposing our military's surveillance capabilities to North Korea," and added, "Not disclosing to the public the detailed specifications of the military's response capabilities and assets is a strategic and military decision to avoid showing North Korea its loss."
The Joint Chiefs of Staff notifies the media in real time about North Korea's ballistic missile launches, which violate UN Security Council sanctions, as soon as they are detected, but often does not make real-time announcements about other launch vehicles, such as cruise missiles, rather than ballistic missiles.
Director Jang continued, "Cruise missiles are slow and have the characteristic of bypassing terrain at low altitudes," and added, "If North Korea launches them from a remote area in the north, detection may be limited due to the curvature of the Earth, etc."
He added, "If North Korea launches a cruise missile toward us, we can sufficiently detect and respond, and our military is currently equipped with a solid military preparedness posture."
Meanwhile, as with the cluster warhead test for ballistic missiles two days ago, North Korea did not disclose the fact of this missile test to internal media outlets such as the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, which is widely viewed by the public.
