North Korea performs tests for its new long-range cruise missile. These missiles can hit much of Japan. The tests performed on the weekend saw that these missiles could travel up to 1500 km.
It suggests that North Korea still can develop weapons despite it having food shortages and an economic crisis. The US military has said that this latest test is posing a threat to International communities and Japan.
A picture published in a North Korean newspaper shows a missile being fired from a launch vehicle. The other one is seen in the form of a horizontal flight.
The cruise missile is a strategic weapon that has great significance. The tests took place on Saturday and Sunday. During the test, the missiles have hit the targets before falling to the territorial waters of North Korea.
It is the first long-range cruise missile in the country. It can carry a nuclear warhead. UN Security Council sanctions prevent North Korea from performing tests of ballistic missiles but not cruise missiles.
The council thinks that ballistic missiles are more threatening than the cruise missile as they can carry bigger and powerful payloads. Those missiles can fly even faster. A ballistic missile gets the support source from a rocket, and it follows an arc-like trajectory. The cruise missile gets power from a jet engine and flies at a much lower height.
The chief cabinet secretary of Japan, Katsunobu Kato, said Japan has significant concerns. It was working with the US and South Korea to put an eye on the situation. The US military said the test is showing that North Korea is keeping up its focus on developing a military program.
Top-level officials from the three countries are about to meet this week. They will discuss the denuclearisation process of North Korea. The South Korean military is also analyzing the launches with US intelligence authorities.
The US is calling for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. Japan and North Korea are having heightened tensions due to 35 years of colonization of Japan in Korea.
North Korea has spent more than a year of isolation. It has cut most of its trade with its ally China during the pandemic. In March, the nation defied the sanction, and it tested ballistic missiles. Last month they restarted a reactor that produces plutonium for nuclear weapons.
Credits: BBC
