N Korea-weapons test

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has tested a "dispersal warhead" for a strategic cruise missile, state media reported Tuesday, following its recent test of a cluster bomb for ballistic missiles.

Full Gen. Kim Jong-sik, a member of the Workers' Party of Korea's Central Military Commission and first vice department director of the Central Committee, oversaw Monday's tests, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"The Warhead Institute of the Missile Administration said it confirmed that the middle-sized dispersal warhead tipped on the cruise missile is capable of turning into ashes a target area of 5 to 6 hectares with its highest-density power," it said.

The Cruise Missile System Institute said it perfected the missile's vertical strike capability by improving its terminal maneuverability, adjusted for the targeted area's natural and geographical characteristics.

"The necessity of developing a variety of weapon systems is urgent than ever before. It is because our armed forces should defend the security of the country and deter all sorts of threats," the director of the missile administration was quoted as saying.

The tests, the director said, demonstrated the country's "practical combat power."

North Korea has vowed to field various types of cluster warheads by the end of the year. It tested a cluster bomb that can be mounted on tactical ballistic missiles Saturday.

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