North says Kim oversaw test of 'sub-launched' cruise missiles

North Korean state media reported Monday that regime leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the test firing of submarine-launched cruise missiles the previous day and reviewed progress on the development of a nuclear-powered submarine.

In this photo released by Pyongyang's state-controlled Korean Central News Agency on Monday, North Korea fires a Pulhwasal-3-31 cruise missile from what appears to be an underwater launch platform the previous day. [YONHAP]

North Korean state media reported Monday that regime leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the test firing of submarine-launched cruise missiles the previous day and reviewed progress on the development of a nuclear-powered submarine.

According to the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the Pulhwasal-3-31 “strategic” cruise missiles launched on Sunday hit their designated targets on an island in the East Sea after flying for 7,421 seconds and 7,445 seconds.

The South Korean military disclosed on Sunday that it detected the launch of several cruise missiles around 8 a.m. that morning near Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province.

Pyongyang’s state media previously reported that the regime test-fired Pulhwasal-3-31 cruise missiles for the first time on Wednesday.

Powered by jet propulsion technology, cruise missiles usually fly at a lower speed and altitude than ballistic missiles.

However, experts say they still pose a risk to South Korea and Japan because they are harder to detect by radar.

The North’s state media quoted Kim as saying that “the nuclear weaponization of the navy is an urgent task of the times and a core requirement for building the state nuclear strategic force.”

In this photo released by Pyongyang's state-controlled Korean Central News Agency on Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seen laughing next to a naval official during a cruise missile test the previous day. [YONHAP]

In response to the launches, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday it is examining the possibility that the North may have “exaggerated” details regarding the missiles’ flight paths. It also said it is investigating which platform they were fired from.

The KCNA also reported that Kim discussed issues related to developing a nuclear-powered submarine and other warships.

In September, the North unveiled its first operational “tactical nuclear attack submarine,” which observers said resembled a modified Soviet-era Romeo-class submarine with 10 launch tube hatches, presumably for ballistic and cruise missiles.

A nuclear-powered submarine was one of the items on Kim’s wish list of advanced military assets, which he announced at a Workers’ Party congress in 2021.

Other weapons systems coveted by the North Korean leader include hypersonic warheads, spy satellites and solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, all of which the regime has said it successfully tested over the past year.

Seoul’s Unification Ministry on Monday blasted Pyongyang for expending limited resources on the development of weapons rather than improving its people’s lives.

“So long as North Korea wastes scarce resources on weapons development and military provocations, its policy of pursuing economic development will be nothing but empty talk, even if 10 years pass,” said ministry spokesman Koo Byoung-sam at a press briefing.

The North has conducted more tests of nuclear weapons delivery systems as it has escalated its verbal offensive against the South in recent weeks.

The North said it launched a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile mounted with a hypersonic warhead on Jan. 14, followed by a test of what it claimed was an underwater nuclear attack drone.

During a year-end party meeting in December and again earlier this month, Kim characterized the relationship between the two Koreas as one of “two hostile states in a state of war” and vowed to “take over” and “annihilate” all of South Korea in the event of armed conflict.

The North Korean leader has also called on the regime’s rubber-stamp legislature to amend the constitution to define South Korea as the North’s “principal enemy” and said Pyongyang will no longer consider Seoul a partner for reconciliation and unification.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]