▲ This photo, released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Feb. 24, 2023, shows the North staging "strategic cruise missile" launch drills in an area near the▲northeastern city of ▲Kimchaek the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
▲ This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 25, 2024, shows the North's first test-firing of the new Pulhwasal-3-31 strategic cruise missile the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

N Korea-missile launch

N. Korea says it test-fired new strategic cruise missile

SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Thursday it has test-fired the new strategic cruise missile Pulhwasal-3-31 for the first time as part of "regular and obligatory" activities to develop powerful weapons systems.

The missile launch on Wednesday did not pose any threat to the safety of the North's neighboring countries and has nothing to do with regional security, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"The test-fire is a process of constant updating of the weapon system and a regular and obligatory activity," of the Missile General Bureau and its affiliated defense science institutes, KCNA said. It did not disclose the missiles' flight details.

The South Korean military said Wednesday it detected the North's launches of several cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea at around 7 a.m.

It marked North Korea's first known cruise missile launch since September 2023, when the country test-fired two long-range strategic cruise missiles with mock nuclear warheads toward the Yellow Sea.

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