Status: 13.09.2021 02:48 a.m.
North Korea claims to have tested a new long-range missile. The cruise missiles would have hit targets 1500 kilometers away. The test comes just before the US, Japan and South Korea discuss the North Korean missile program.
The self-proclaimed nuclear power North Korea tested new cruise missiles with long ranges over the weekend. This was announced by the North Korean state agency KCNA. The new type was therefore tested on Saturday and Sunday after two years of research. According to the KCNA, the missiles flew in an oval trajectory over the mainland and waters in North Korea and hit targets 1,500 kilometers away.
Cruise missiles not sanctioned
UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles, which, depending on their design, can also carry nuclear warheads. However, tests of cruise missiles are not subject to sanctions against the country. Unlike ballistic missiles, cruise missiles have their own permanent drive. The country is subject to international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program.
On Thursday night, North Korea held another night military parade. The occasion of the troop show in the center of the capital Pyongyang was the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the state. North Korea often uses important holidays or memorial days to show military strength. The country last held a military parade under a night sky in January and before that in October 2020, demonstrating ballistic missiles with different ranges.
The North Korean agency KCNA distributed these photos. They are supposed to show the latest missile test.
Image: dpa
Discussions soon on missile program
Negotiations on the North Korean nuclear program have made no headway since the failed summit meeting between Kim Jong Un and former US President Donald Trump in Vietnam in February 2019. The USA, Japan and South Korea want to start a new attempt to find a way out of the impasse in the nuclear negotiations with North Korea. Representatives from all three countries would meet for deliberations in Tokyo next week, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed. All three countries want North Korea to renounce nuclear weapons.