North Korea tests ballistic missiles with cluster warheads

North Korea said on Monday that it had test-fired upgraded ballistic missiles equipped with cluster warheads a day earlier, with leader Kim Jong Un personally overseeing the launches.

According to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), five Hwasongpho-11 Ra surface-to-surface tactical ballistic missiles were launched, striking a target area approximately 136 kilometers away, News.Az reports, citing Kyodo.

Japan and South Korea reported on Sunday that multiple short-range ballistic missiles had been fired from the Sinpo area toward the Sea of Japan. South Korea’s military indicated that the missiles could have been launched from a submarine.

KCNA stated that the objective of the test was to assess the performance and effectiveness of cluster bomb warheads and fragmentation mine warheads mounted on tactical ballistic missiles.

Kim expressed satisfaction with the outcome, noting that the development of various cluster warheads contributes to enhancing the military’s capability to conduct high-density strikes, the agency reported.

Earlier this month, North Korea also announced that it had tested a Hwasongpho-11 Ka ballistic missile fitted with a cluster warhead.

North Korea is not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international treaty that bans the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster weapons, which disperse submunitions across a wide area.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev