DPRK successfully test-fires multiple-warhead missile
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The test is part of the DPRK's stated objective of enhancing its defensive capabilities.
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DPRK missile firing drills, undated photo provided on May 31, 2024 (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) successfully tested a multiple-warhead missile, according to state news agency KCNA on Thursday, further increasing tensions with South Korea.
The DPRK "successfully conducted the separation and guidance control test of individual mobile warheads," KCNA reported Thursday.
The testing was conducted on Wednesday during which the "separated mobile warheads were guided correctly to the three coordinate targets," said DPRK's state media, adding, "The test is aimed at securing the MIRV capability."
South Korea's military claimed the multiple-warhead missile appeared to be hypersonic, adding that the launch ended in a mid-air explosion. According to a South Korean official, the missile seemed to emit more smoke than usual, suggesting combustion issues.
This is not the only missile test the DPRK has carried out this year. Over the past few months, the country, which is nuclear-armed and subject to UN sanctions, has launched cruise missiles, tactical rockets, and hypersonic weapons as part of its stated objective to enhance its defensive capabilities.
DPRK, South Korea rising tensions
Earlier this week, the DPRK launched overnight of over 250 trash-filled balloons into South Korea, resulting in a temporary closure and halt in operations at South Korea's Incheon International Airport.
This is the sixth launch the DPRK carried out this month in retaliation to anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets, radios, and USB thumb drives distributed by DPRK defectors and South Koreans.
In 2020, South Korea's Constitutional Court invalidated a law criminalizing the sending of anti-Pyongyang propaganda, citing it as an undue restriction on free speech. Consequently, experts argue that there are currently no legal grounds for the government to intervene in South Koreans' balloon launches into the DPRK.
In a pointed response, Kim Yo Jong, the Deputy Director of the Publicity and Information Department of the Workers' Party of Korea and influential sister of Kim Jong Un, derided South Korea's objections to the balloons, asserting that DPRK citizens were simply exercising their freedom of expression.
Tensions have also heightened with South Korea's military holding a five-day joint military logistic drill with the United States military this week, which is set to finish on Friday.
