Tag: missiles

North Korea confirms missile launch, vows bolstered nuclear force

SEOUL, May 18, 2024 (AFP) – North Korea has test-fired a tactical ballistic missile equipped with a “new autonomous navigation system”, state media said Saturday, with leader Kim Jong Un vowing to boost the country’s nuclear force. Kim oversaw the Friday test-launch into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, on a mission to evaluate the “accuracy and reliability of the autonomous navigation system”, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. […]

North Korea tests ‘super-large warhead’: state media

SEOUL, April 20, 2024 (AFP) – North Korea has tested a “super-large warhead” designed for a strategic cruise missile, state media said Saturday, the most recent test since UN sanctions monitoring against the nuclear-armed nation was upended last month by Russia. The announcement comes after Russia in March used its United Nations Security Council veto to effectively end UN monitoring of violations of the raft of sanctions on Kim Jong Un’s government for its nuclear […]

North Korea says tested ‘underwater nuclear weapon system’

SEOUL, Jan 19, 2024 (AFP) – North Korea said Friday that it had tested an “underwater nuclear weapon system” in response to joint naval exercises by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo that involved a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The drills were “seriously threatening the security” of the North, so in response, Pyongyang “conducted an important test of its underwater nuclear weapon system ‘Haeil-5-23’ under development in the East Sea of Korea,” according to a statement from […]

North Korea says it test-fired hypersonic missile

SEOUL, Jan 15, 2024 (AFP) – North Korea said Monday it had successfully test-fired a new ballistic missile tipped with a hypersonic manoeuvrable warhead, the latest breakthrough in its pursuit of advanced weaponry to threaten South Korean and US targets. The launch, Pyongyang’s first known weapons test this year and its first ever test of a solid-fuel hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), was detected by Seoul’s military Sunday afternoon. A short report in the official […]

N. Korea fires ‘unidentified ballistic missile’: Seoul military

SEOUL, Jan 14, 2024 (AFP) – North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Sunday, Seoul’s military said, days after Pyongyang staged live-fire exercises near the tense maritime border with the South. “North Korea fires unidentified ballistic missile towards East Sea,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said had it detected the launch but gave […]

N Korea’s Kim calls for expanded missile launcher production

SEOUL, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for expanded production of missile launchers in preparation for a “military showdown” with South Korea and the United States, state media said Friday. His comments, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, came shortly after Washington said Russia had used ballistic missiles and launchers provided by North Korea in a recent flurry of attacks on cities in Ukraine. State media images […]

Russia used N.Korean missiles for Ukraine attacks: US

By Danny KEMP WASHINGTON, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – North Korea has provided Russia with ballistic missiles and missile launchers that were used in recent attacks on Ukraine in a major escalation of support for Moscow, the White House said Thursday. Russia is also looking to obtain missiles from its ally Iran as it runs short of arms nearly two years into President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it said. The Pyongyang-supplied missiles with ranges […]

Russia used N.Korean missiles for Ukraine attacks: US

By Danny KEMP WASHINGTON, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – North Korea has provided Russia with ballistic missiles and missile launchers that were used in recent attacks on Ukraine in a major escalation of support for Moscow, the White House said Thursday. Russia is also looking to obtain missiles from its ally Iran as it runs short of arms nearly two years into President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it said. The Pyongyang-supplied missiles with ranges […]

N. Korea’s new nuclear reactor likely fully operational next summer: Seoul

SEOUL, Dec 29, 2023 (AFP) – A new reactor at North Korea’s main nuclear facility will likely be fully operational by next summer, Seoul’s defence minister said, a week after the UN atomic agency called it a “cause for concern”. Shin Won-sik told local media Thursday that the new reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex appears to be in a “trial operation” stage and that it is expected to be fully operational next summer. […]

North Korea’s Kim warns Washington as biggest ICBM launched

SEOUL, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to accelerate his country’s nuclear build-up and warned Washington against making a “wrong decision” after overseeing the launch of the country’s most powerful ballistic missile, state media said Tuesday. Monday’s test launch of the solid-fuel Hwasong-18 came a day after the nuclear-powered submarine USS Missouri made port in Busan and followed a US-South Korea warning that a nuclear attack by Pyongyang […]

Cruise missiles to nukes: North Korea’s arsenal

SEOUL, Dec 18, 2023 (AFP) – North Korea fired its most powerful and advanced solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile on Monday, extending a record-breaking run of weapons tests this year that have been condemned by the West. The move follows leader Kim Jong-un’s declaration last year that Pyongyang is an “irreversible” nuclear power. Here is a look at North Korea’s arsenal: – Intercontinental ballistic missiles – Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) have a minimum range of 5,500 […]

N. Korea tests most advanced ICBM, reaching US within range

By Sunghee Hwang SEOUL, Dec 18, 2023 (AFP) – North Korea on Monday test-fired its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile that has the potential to reach the United States, extending a record-breaking number of weapons tests this year and triggering further international condemnation. South Korea said the North fired an ICBM that used solid fuel, which makes missiles easier to transport and faster to fire than liquid-fuelled versions. Monday’s launch was the third time the […]