SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Thursday that a series of weapons tests this week included ballistic missiles fitted with cluster‑bomb warheads as it works to expand nuclear‑capable forces that threaten rival South Korea.
State media said the tests, which lasted three days beginning Monday, also demonstrated anti‑aircraft systems, claimed electromagnetic weapons and so‑called carbon‑fiber bombs. South Korea’s military reported detecting multiple missile launches from an eastern coastal area Wednesday — the second round of launches in two days — and said the projectiles flew roughly 240 to 700 kilometers (150 to 434 miles) before falling into the sea. It also detected at least one launch Tuesday from an area near Pyongyang.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said none of the weapons fired Wednesday entered waters inside its exclusive economic zone, and the U.S. military assessed that the Tuesday and Wednesday launches posed no immediate threat to the United States or its allies.
North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency said the tests demonstrated cluster‑munitions warhead systems mounted on Hwasong‑11 short‑range ballistic missiles, which resemble Russia’s Iskander and are designed for low‑altitude, maneuverable flight to evade defenses. KCNA claimed that when armed with such warheads the missile “can reduce to ashes any target covering an area of 6.5‑7 hectares (16 to 17.2 acres) with the highest‑density power.”
A spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, Jang Do‑young, said the military is analyzing the launches and sharing information with U.S. and Japanese counterparts but declined to offer specific assessments of North Korea’s claims about advances in its capabilities.
The launches highlighted enduring tensions on the peninsula and dampened hopes in Seoul for warmer relations. In a statement Tuesday, Jang Kum Chol, a first vice foreign minister in Pyongyang, reiterated that South Korea remains the North’s “most hostile enemy state” and derided Seoul’s liberal government for seeking renewed dialogue.
Since the collapse of nuclear negotiations with former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has largely suspended diplomacy with Seoul and Washington and accelerated development of missiles that can carry nuclear warheads and threaten U.S. allies and the U.S. mainland. Pyongyang has also pursued closer ties with Russia, China and other countries at odds with the United States. North Korean state media said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was due to arrive Thursday for a two‑day visit.