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North Korea Fires “Strategic” Cruise Missiles Hours Before Trump Arrives in South Korea
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North Korea said it conducted a test of sea-to-surface “strategic” cruise missiles over the Yellow Sea on October 28, hours before US President Donald Trump’s visit to South Korea for APEC meetings as was reported by Fox News on October 29
State media described ship-launched missiles fired vertically that flew “for over 7,800 seconds” along a preset route before striking a target, a profile South Korean outlets said indicated an endurance trial of an upgraded system.
The timing coincided with Trump’s arrival in Seoul after meetings in Japan, where he again expressed willingness to meet Kim. Analysts in Seoul said the launch underscored Pyongyang’s intent to press ahead with qualitative improvements to its cruise-missile force irrespective of diplomatic signals.
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South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected North Korean cruise-missile activity at about 3 p.m. local time on Tuesday in waters west of the peninsula and that details were under analysis by South Korean and US authorities.
“Our military is maintaining a full readiness posture to respond overwhelmingly to any North Korean provocation,” the JCS said, Reuters stated.
KCNA reported that the launch was overseen by senior officials including Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and that the missiles had been “improved for ship-based launches.”
Pak was quoted as saying it is North Korea’s “responsible mission and duty to ceaselessly toughen the nuclear combat posture,” framing the test as part of efforts to keep nuclear forces on a practical footing. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not attend, according to the same reports.
Earlier, it was reported that North Korea displayed the Hwasong-11Ma short-range ballistic missile with a hypersonic glide warhead intended to reduce the effectiveness
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