(LEAD) N. Korea says it conducted launch of 'Hwasal-2' strategic cruise missile

이민지 / 2024-01-31 07:23:53

(LEAD) N Korea-missile launch

▲ This photo, released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Jan. 31, 2024, shows the North staging a drill to launch the Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missile off its west coast the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) N Korea-missile launch

(LEAD) N. Korea says it conducted launch of 'Hwasal-2' strategic cruise missile

(ATTN: CHANGES headline; ADDS details; UPDATES details throughout, photos)

By Lee Minji

SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Wednesday it conducted a drill to launch the Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missile the previous day to check its rapid counterattack posture and improve its strategic striking capability.

The launch in the Yellow Sea had "no adverse effect on the security of a neighboring country," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said without giving further details, including how many missiles were launched and how far they flew.

South Korea had said Tuesday the North fired several cruise missiles off the west coast.

The latest launch marked the North's third cruise missile launch in a week.

On Sunday, North Korea test-fired a newly developed submarine-launched strategic cruise missile, named the "Pulhwasal-3-31," near Sinpo, a major shipyard for submarines, just days after the strategic cruise missile was tested for the first time last Wednesday.

North Korea last launched the Hwasal-2 cruise missile in March last year after first testing it on January 2022. It is estimated to have a normal flight range of up to 2,000 kilometers.

Cruise missiles, powered by jet engines, fly low and maneuver, making them hard to detect and intercept.

Hwasal means "arrow" in Korean, and Pulhwasal means "fire arrow."

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