Seoul, July 2 (EFE).- North Korea announced Tuesday it successfully tested a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a large warhead by launching two such projectiles, a statement that raises doubts after Seoul said one of the two missiles appeared to explode in mid-air.
North Korean state news agency KCNA said “the test launch of a new tactical ballistic missile, the Hwasongpho-11Da-4.5, capable of carrying a 4.5-ton warhead” was successfully carried out.
The name “Da” of the missile indicates that it is a third version of the Hwasong-11, a short-range missile first revealed in 2019 based on the Russian lskander which, like this projectile, is capable of flying with a quasi-ballistic trajectory.
KCNA said the launches were carried out using two different ranges to “verify flight stability and impact accuracy” with a maximum range of 500 kilometers and a minimum range of 90 kilometers.
The text also anticipated that a second launch would be carried out in July “to verify the flight characteristics, precision and explosive power of a large warhead with an average range of 250 kilometers.”
The South Korean army reported Monday that Pyongyang launched two short-range ballistic missiles in a northeasterly direction from the province of South Hwanghae (southwest of the country) and that the first flew about 600 kilometers.
The second, however, traveled only about 120 kilometers before disappearing from radar, so it could have fallen on solid ground, according to spokespersons for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.
It is the second apparently failed North Korean launch in just a week, since on June 26, Pyongyang fired another missile that seemed to explode in the initial phase of flight, according to videos captured and published by the southern army.
The regime, which usually shares abundant graphic material when a weapons test is successful, published only one photo that appeared to correspond to an old launch.
KCNA did not publish any photos of Monday’s rehearsal.
These tests seem to respond to the recent multi-domain maneuvers carried out last week by South Korea, Japan and the United States, which Pyongyang harshly condemned, warning of “fatal consequences.”
It comes after North Korea and Russia signed a new strategic partnership agreement two weeks ago that includes a mutual military assistance clause in the event of aggression against their territories, a pact that worries about the possibility of deepening the arms cooperation between both states. EFE
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