[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] What is the Level of North Korea's Cruise Missiles?

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Interest in the technological level of North Korea's cruise missiles is increasing following reports of their launch.

Government sources stated on the 24th, "North Korea launched two cruise missiles over the West Sea at short range last Sunday," adding, "It is unreasonable to assume they are short-range missiles."

North Korea previously launched an anti-ship cruise missile in June 2017. At that time, the anti-ship missile was launched from the Wonsan area in Gangwon Province, performed two turns in the air over the East Sea, and then hit a target floating at sea.

The military authorities at the time noted that the cruise missile performed two turns in the air. This means that two 'way points' (intermediate points) coordinates were pre-set in the missile's warhead along the flight path before launch.

Experts explained that having the ability to turn at coordinates entered as intermediate points means the missile can find and strike targets behind hills inland or behind islands at sea, respectively. Deploying anti-ship cruise missiles in Hwanghae Province could expose South Korean naval vessels operating near the Taean Peninsula in the West Sea to threats.

In particular, anti-ship cruise missiles fly at altitudes of 50 to 100 meters from the ground or sea, making detection difficult and interception challenging. The anti-ship cruise missile launched by North Korea flew at low altitude before ascending to a maximum altitude of about 2 km. This indicates it flew at low altitude until reaching the maximum altitude. When missiles fly at low altitude, they are not detected by ground-based ballistic missile early warning radars or the SPY-1D radar on Aegis ships at sea.

The military authorities estimate that North Korea has completed the development of anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles but has failed to develop surface-to-air cruise missiles. When North Korea launched cruise missiles in April last year, multiple aircraft activities were detected, including Su-25-like Sukhoi fighters and MiG-series fighters. The military interprets this as movements to test-launch air-to-ground cruise missiles from fighter jets.

Shin Jong-woo, Secretary General of the Korea Defense Forum (KODEF), said, "The missiles launched by North Korea are likely upgraded cruise missiles not revealed at the January military parade," adding, "Since Chairman Kim Jong-un did not attend and the North Korean state media did not report it, it appears to be a test launch."

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