.jpg)
North Korea has launched four strategic cruise missiles as part of a military drill that state media said was designed to demonstrate its ability to conduct a nuclear counterattack, reports Al Jazeera.
The four Hwasal-2 missiles were launched from the area of Kim Chaek City in North Hamgyong Province, towards the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, said the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
They hit a preset target after travelling the “2,000km-long [1,243-mile] elliptical and eight-shaped flight orbits for 10,208 seconds to 10,224 seconds,” it added.
The launches came as the United States and South Korea held a simulated military exercise in Washington, DC, aimed at sharpening their response to North Korean nuclear threats.
North Korea first tested a long-range cruise missile system in September 2021 and has since described the weapons as “strategic,” suggesting that they are being developed with the intent to arm them with nuclear warheads.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
