Seoul disputes North Korea's claim of successful 'super-large warhead' missile test
SEOUL. July 2 (UPI) -- North Korea test-fired a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a super-large warhead, state media reported Tuesday, a claim that South Korean defense officials disputed as a likely "deception."
According to a report in state-run Korean Central News Agency, the North successfully launched its new Hwasong-11Da-4.5 missile on Monday. The weapon is capable of carrying a 4.5 ton-class super-large warhead, the report claimed.
"The test-fire was conducted with a missile tipped with a simulated heavy warhead to verify flight stability and hit accuracy at the maximum range of 500 km (310 miles) and the minimum range of 90 km (55 miles)," the KCNA report said.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday that it detected the launch of two short-range missiles from the southwestern corner of North Korea. One flew 370 miles and landed in waters off the east coast, but the other traveled only 75 miles, leading to speculation that it failed and may have exploded over land.
At a press briefing Tuesday, a JCS spokesman cast doubt on the North's claims of a successful test.
"We are weighing the possibility of deception in North Korea's public reporting," spokesman Col. Lee Sung-jun said. "The second missile, which flew abnormally yesterday, appears to have landed in a field where there are no private houses."
"In addition, it is extremely rare for a test launch to be carried out inland, and it is likely that it would be false to say that it was successful," Lee added.
Last week, another North Korean missile appeared to fail in mid-flight.
Pyongyang claimed that it had successfully conducted its first multiple-warhead missile test, but the South's military on Friday released video footage showing a missile spiraling on an abnormal flight path before disintegrating over the East Sea.
North Korea did not release images of Monday's launches, which it generally does after announcing weapons test results.
The KCNA report said that Pyongyang will conduct another test of the missile in July to "verify flight characteristics, hit accuracy and explosion power of super-large warhead at the medium range of 250 km (155 miles)."
A super-large nuclear warhead was on a wish list of weapons that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un laid out at a party congress in January 2021, alongside nuclear-powered submarines, solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles and military satellites.
The recent launches come amid growing military ties and a new mutual defense treaty between North Korea and Russia, with speculation that Pyongyang is conducting tests and ramping up weapons production in anticipation of sales to Moscow and other buyers.
Washington said earlier this month that the North has transferred dozens of ballistic missiles and over 11,000 containers of munitions to Moscow for its war effort in Ukraine.
Russia and North Korea have denied the allegations, but on Friday the head of a weapons research group presented evidence to the U.N. Security Council that he said "irrefutably" proves a missile from North Korea was used on the battlefield in Ukraine.
