(VOVWORLD) -North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has supervised the test-firing of a new surface-to-sea missile and ordered a tighter defense posture near the western maritime border, state media reported Thursday.
 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (right) on January 28, 2024 supervised the test-firing of the cruise missile "Pulhwasal-3-31" launched from a submarine. (Photo: Yonhap/VNA) |
North Korea test-launched the new missile, named Padasuri-6, on Wednesday, the Korean Central News Agency said, adding one missile hit a target after flying over waters in the East Sea for 23 minutes and 20 seconds. It did not disclose further details, such as how many missiles were fired.
This was North Korea's fifth cruise missile launch this year. Pyongyang has conducted weapons tests including launching cruise missiles from sea and land, as well as firing artillery into waters near the inter-Korean border in the west.
A day earlier, South Korea's military said the North fired several cruise missiles off the eastern port city of Wonsan.