Pyongyang on Friday hailed the successful test of a new type of surface-to-ship cruise missile, which it said was designed to hit „any enemy group of battleships“ that threatened North Korea. The launch Thursday — the North’s fifth weapons test in a month — was overseen by leader Kim
Seoul (AFP) – Pyongyang on Friday hailed the successful test of a new type of surface-to-ship cruise missile, which it said was designed to hit „any enemy group of battleships“ that threatened North Korea.
The launch Thursday — the North’s fifth weapons test in a month — was overseen by leader Kim Jong-Un, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported, and came less than a week after the United Nations tightened sanctions against the Stalinist regime.
„The launched cruise rockets accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea, “ KCNA said, referring to the Sea of Japan — where two US aircraft carriers were on naval manoeuvres last week.
The USS Carl Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan led the three-day exercises that ended on June 3, with a total of a dozen US ships participating along with two Japanese vessels, in a show of force directed at North Korea.
The US has stepped up its muscle-flexing in the region, with a US nuclear submarine, the 6,900-ton USS Cheyenne, whose home port is Pearl Harbor, also arriving in the South Korean port of Busan Tuesday.
North Korea’s top newspaper Rodong Sinmun ran a front-page photo of a beaming Kim surrounded by smiling generals in uniform, with further pictures inside apparently showing the cruise missiles being launched from the back of a tank-like vehicle, and hitting ships at sea.
North Korea has ordered three ballistic missile launches, a surface-to-air missile, and now Thursday’s cruise missile tests since South Korea’s new President Moon Jae-in took power in early May.
