[3rd Report] North Korea Fires Several Short-Range Cruise Missile-Like Projectiles

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] North Korea fired several projectiles presumed to be short-range cruise missiles.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced on the 14th, "This morning, several projectiles presumed to be short-range cruise missiles were launched from the Munchon area in Gangwon Province toward the East Sea."

Our military is closely monitoring North Korea's additional military movements while maintaining a firm readiness posture. Currently, South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are conducting a detailed analysis of the related matters. North Korea fired projectiles again 16 days after launching a 'super-large multiple rocket launcher' toward the East Sea on the 29th of last month. This is the fifth launch this year.

If this projectile is a cruise missile, it is highly likely to be the Kh-35 anti-ship missile that North Korea showcased in 2015. North Korea's Kh-35 anti-ship missile is modeled after the anti-ship missile developed by Russia in the 1990s. The Kh-35 can travel at up to 0.8 times the speed of sound, is hardly affected by electronic jamming, and can track and destroy ships up to 130 km away. Its maximum range is also 50 km longer than the Styx anti-ship missile (maximum range 80 km). Especially, it flies at an ultra-low altitude of 15 meters above the sea and lowers its altitude further as it approaches the target for a surprise attack, making it difficult to detect and intercept with radar. It is presumed that North Korea either directly imported the Kh-35 or acquired it through a third country, then reverse-engineered it by disassembling and reassembling to develop an independent model.

When North Korea unveiled it in 2015, the missile was launched from a new type of North Korean warship (estimated 300 tons). This was the first time North Korea publicly revealed a new warship. This vessel can sail at a maximum speed of 90 km/h and is designed with a stealth shape that is difficult to detect by radar.

Later, in 2017, North Korea fired projectiles presumed to be the KH-35 land-to-ship cruise missile again. When North Korea launched it in 2015, it flew 100 km, but within about two years, the range was extended to 200 km. On April 15 of that year, during the 105th anniversary parade of Kim Il-sung's birthday, North Korea unveiled a tracked vehicle equipped with four launch tubes for land-to-ship missiles.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.