North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the launch of long-range strategic cruise missiles on Sunday, in what state media described as a test confirming the country’s nuclear deterrent and readiness to respond to security threats.
The missiles flew along a trajectory over waters west of the Korean Peninsula before striking their target, the state news agency KCNA reported on Monday.
Kim expressed “great satisfaction” with the launch, calling regular checks of the country’s nuclear deterrent a “responsible exercise” amid what he described as ongoing security challenges facing the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Kim said North Korea would continue devoting all its efforts to the “unlimited” development of its nuclear combat force, KCNA said.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said its military detected the launch of multiple cruise missiles at around 8 a.m. on Sunday from the Sunan area near Pyongyang.
South Korean defence officials said a series of recent North Korean military activities, including reported work on a nuclear-powered submarine, were undermining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
The missile launch follows reports last week that Kim observed the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine alongside his daughter and oversaw the test-firing of long-range surface-to-air missiles.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that additional missile tests could take place around the New Year, though South Korea’s military declined to comment.
Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said the latest launch was likely aimed at testing upgrades to cruise missiles capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads.
The missile test comes amid a period of heightened activity by Kim ahead of a ruling Workers’ Party congress scheduled for early 2026. In recent weeks, Kim has attended a series of military inspections as well as the opening of industrial and infrastructure projects, including a paper mill inaugurated on Sunday.
North Korea is expected to convene the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in early 2026, as it seeks to complete its current five-year development plan.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has dismissed media reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow ear...
A glacial collapse that triggered catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday has killed at least 270 people, with more than 1,...
Uzbekistan's region of Karakalpakstan is developing three cryptocurrency mining facilities and three data c...
Oil prices fell after the U.S. expanded economic sanctions on Iran, as Tehran vowed to retaliate and warned it had tools to respond, raising concerns over potential disruption to regional oil supplies.
Rescuers in Nepal used helicopters on Thursday to scour for hundreds still missing after a wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border with China's Tibet, sending catastrophic floods through towns and valleys, killing 162 people.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told allied foreign ministers Washington will focus on sanctions and other pressure on Iran “for the time being”, Axios reports. Meanwhile, Iran and Oman have resumed talks on a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
Kyiv has recently received a small number of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. It comes as Britain and France pledged stronger military support for Ukraine.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for greater economic cooperation among Muslim countries, saying their combined economic weight remains disproportionately small compared with their population, strategic location and resources.
A glacial collapse that triggered catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday has killed at least 270 people, with more than 1,000 still missing. Here are some of the most devastating glacier-related disasters recorded around the world:
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says 3.7 million children across Afghanistan are suffering from acute wasting, a dangerous form of malnutrition, including around one million with severe acute malnutrition, as hospitals and aid services face rising demand and funding shortages.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has dismissed media reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow earlier this week to warn Russia against attacking NATO, dismissing them as "scare stories," which had nothing to do with reality.
Icelanders will vote on Saturday, 29 August, on whether to resume negotiations with the European Union, in a referendum that could reopen the country’s long-debated membership question.
Israel is set to return the body of a 15-year-old Palestinian boy more than nine months after he was killed by Israeli forces and his remains were placed in Israeli custody, according to a Palestinian campaign seeking the return of bodies.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment