SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Thursday that a recent series of weapons tests included multiple new systems, among them ballistic missiles equipped with cluster-munition warheads, as it seeks to expand nuclear-capable forces aimed at South Korea.
State media said the three-day testing program began Monday and also featured demonstrations of anti-aircraft systems, alleged electromagnetic weapons and carbon-fiber bombs. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported multiple missile launches, saying Wednesday’s missiles traveled about 240 to 700 kilometers (150 to 434 miles) before splashing into the sea, and that at least one projectile was launched Tuesday from an area near Pyongyang.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said none of the Wednesday-fired weapons entered waters inside its exclusive economic zone, and the U.S. military assessed that the Tuesday and Wednesday launches posed no immediate threat to the United States or its allies.
North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency said the tests showed cluster-munition warheads mounted on Hwasong-11 short-range ballistic missiles, which it compared to Russia’s Iskander design for low-altitude, maneuverable flight to evade defenses. KCNA claimed the weapon could strike an area of about 6.5–7 hectares (16–17.2 acres) with high density.
South Korea said it is analyzing the launches and sharing information with U.S. and Japanese counterparts but declined to verify Pyongyang’s claims about capability advances. The tests highlighted persistent tensions on the peninsula and dashed hopes for improved ties.
In a statement Tuesday, a North Korean foreign ministry official called South Korea its “most hostile enemy state” and derided Seoul’s liberal government for seeking renewed dialogue. Since U.S.-North Korea nuclear talks collapsed in 2019, leader Kim Jong Un has largely halted diplomacy with Seoul and Washington while accelerating development of nuclear-capable missiles and pursuing closer ties with Russia, China and other countries. North Korean state media said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will arrive for a two-day visit Thursday.