North Korea says it has conducted a test launch of a new tactical ballistic missile that is capable of carrying a so-called “super-large warhead.”
State news agency KCNA said Monday’s launch of the Hwasongpho-11 Da-4.5 missile was meant to verify the missile’s flight stability and accuracy with a simulated heavy payload.The report says the missile can carry a 4.5-ton warhead. The report did not say where the test was conducted and where the missile landed.
Tuesday’s report came a day after South Korea’s military said the North launched two ballistic missiles, the second of which began flying abnormally shortly after liftoff and fell into an area not far from the capital Pyongyang.
A South Korean military spokesman told reporters that the North’s report of the test flight of the new missile was likely fabricated. North Korea made a similar claim last week about a new missile which could carry multiple warheads, which Seoul also dismissed as a “deception and exaggeration.”
Meanwhile, the South Korean army says it held live-firing drills Tuesday near the heavily fortified border with North Korea. The drills were the first of its kind since Seoul suspended a 2018 agreement with Pyongyang aimed at reducing military tensions along the border.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters.