North tests new high-altitude surface-to-air missile, KCNA says

A new high-altitude, long-range surface-to-air missile is fired over the East Sea by North Korea's Missile Administration on Dec. 24. [KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY]

 
North Korea conducted a test launch of a new high-altitude, long-range surface-to-air missile over the East Sea on Wednesday while leader Kim Jong-un observed, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Thursday.
 
The test was carried out by North Korea’s Missile Administration and marked the first launch aimed at evaluating the tactical and technical performance of a high-altitude, long-range antiaircraft missile system currently under development, the KCNA said.
 

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“The launched missiles accurately hit the mock targets at an altitude of 200 kilometers [124 miles],” the report said.
 
“The test-fire is a part of the routine activities of the Missile Administration and its affiliated antiair weapon system research institutes for the technical optimization of the national antiair defense means,” the KCNA said.
 
Kim congratulated those involved on the successful test, the report added.
 
Seoul had detected signs of a possible missile launch in advance and was monitoring the situation, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
 
“We were aware of signs of a North Korean missile launch and were prepared,” the JCS said in a statement released Thursday. “Around 5 p.m. Wednesday, we detected several presumed surface-to-air missiles launched from the vicinity of Sondok, South Hamgyong Province, into the East Sea.”
 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during a Workers' Party meeting in Pyongyang on Dec. 9. [KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY]

 
Detailed specifications are under close analysis by South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities, according to the JCS. Seoul’s military did not disclose the launch publicly on Wednesday.
 
“Under a firm South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture, our military is closely monitoring North Korea’s activities and maintains the capability and readiness to respond overwhelmingly to any provocation,” the JCS said.
 
Meanwhile, the KCNA also reported that Kim conducted an on-site inspection of the construction project for an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine.
 
Kim described the new nuclear-propelled submarine as an “epoch-making crucial change” that would further reinforce confidence — both domestically and even among adversaries — in North Korea’s war deterrence capabilities, calling it a core component of the country’s nuclear deterrent.
 

An 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine is seen during an inspection by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, not pictured, in this photo provided by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 25. [KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY]

 
“The nuclear submarine development plan of South Korea, which Washington has agreed on at the solicitation of Seoul recently, will worsen the instability in the region of the Korean peninsula,” Kim said, according to the KCNA. “[We regard] it as an offensive act severely violating its security and maritime sovereignty and a threat to its security that must be countered.”
 
Kim emphasized that there would be no change whatsoever to North Korea’s national security guarantee policy and principles of countering adversaries.
 
“Kim said it is needed to make the enemy understand with no doubt that they will be surely forced to pay a dear price when they violate the security of the DPRK's strategic sovereignty and that they will face a merciless retaliatory attack if they try to select a military option,” the KCNA said, referring to North Korea by the initialism for its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM EUN-BIN [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]