North Korea Tests 'Super-Large' Cruise Missile Warhead and Anti-Aircraft Missile Amid Tensions

On Saturday, April 20, North Korea announced that it had conducted tests for a “super-large” cruise missile warhead and a new anti-aircraft missile in a western coastal area. These tests come as North Korea expands its military capabilities amid escalating tensions with the United States and South Korea.

The country’s missile administration conducted a “power test” for the warhead designed for the Hwasal-1 Ra-3 strategic cruise missile and a test-launch of the Pyoljji-1-2 anti-aircraft missile on Friday, according to North Korean state media. The tests were reported to have achieved an unspecified “certain goal.”

Continued Military Development Activities

Photos released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency depicted at least two missiles being fired off launcher trucks at a runway. The tests conducted on February 2 were similar, but at that time, the names of the cruise missile or the anti-aircraft missile were not specified, indicating possible technological progress after weeks of testing the same system. KCNA insisted that the recent tests were part of the North’s regular military development activities and were unrelated to the “surrounding situation.”

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have reached their peak in years, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un intensifying weapons demonstrations, including more powerful missiles aimed at the U.S. mainland and U.S. targets in the Pacific. In response, the United States, South Korea and Japan have expanded their combined military training and sharpened their deterrence strategies involving strategic U.S. assets.

Cruise missiles form part of a growing collection of North Korean weapons designed to overwhelm regional missile defenses and complement the country’s vast lineup of ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles targeted at the continental United States.

Analysts suggest that anti-aircraft missile technology is an area where North Korea could benefit from its deepening military cooperation with Russia, aligning the two countries in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the U.S. The United States and South Korea have accused North Korea of providing artillery shells and other equipment to Russia to aid in extending its warfighting in Ukraine.