The North Korean tests anti-ship missile is
said to have been developed in the country,
Analyst says the missile actually look
similar to Russian Kh-35E anti-ship
cruise missile.
Announcement comes before annual
U.S.-South Korea exercises that draws
heavy criticism from North Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
inspects the test-firing of a new type
of “anti-ship rocket.”
North Korea fires ‘cutting-edge’ missiles
North Korea tested what it
described as a new type of “cutting-
edge” anti-ship missile with its leader Kim
Jong Un pictured beaming at the launch,
as shown in state media on Saturday.
But some analysts are saying North
Korea’s touted missiles appear to be
Russian designs.
The announcement of the test also
occurs just weeks before the annual
joint U.S.-South Korea military
exercises, that annually draws colorful
rhetoric and promises of catastrophe
from Pyongyang.
The test-firing took place in the East
Sea and the North Korean media
boasted that its “intelligent rocket
precisely sought, tracked and hit the
‘enemy’ ship after taking a safe flight.”
The South Korean Defense ministry
said five short-range missiles were
fired on Sunday with a range of 200
kilometers (124 miles).
The purpose of the new missiles are
for North Korea to defend its waters
and “strongly react to any attempt of
the enemy’s fleets of warships for
military attack, through close combat
or distant combat,” according to North
Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency.
North Korean media also showed a
beaming Kim standing with military
generals who were applauding. It also
reported that Kim expressed
“satisfaction” over the “highest level” of
rockets being developed in North
Korea.
But that point is being disputed, as one
analytical officer wrote the weapon
appeared to be a Russian Kh-35E anti-
ship cruise missile.
“Whether the KPN (Korean People’s
Navy) acquired the system directly
from Russia or a third party is
unclear,” wrote Joseph S. Bermudez in
the North Korea analysis site, 38
North.
“Should the new system be
successfully integrated into the KPN
and widely deployed it would represent
a significant step towards redressing
the service’s obsolescence and
increasing the threat poised to South
Korean and U.S. Navy vessels in the
region.”
Bermudez also cautioned that this was
only a “potential development” as North
Korea’s military has a “long history of
slow and often poor system
integration.”
