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North Korea Conducts First Cruise Missile Launch since 2017

A man watches footage of a news report on North Korea firing an unidentified projectile, in Seoul, South Korea, March 9, 2020. South Korea said its northern neighbor launched cruise missiles and conducted training exercises with fighter jets on Tuesday — North Korea’s first use of cruise missiles since June 2017 and a significant military …

A man watches footage of a news report on North Korea firing an unidentified projectile, in Seoul, South Korea, March 9, 2020.

South Korea said its northern neighbor launched cruise missiles and conducted training exercises with fighter jets on Tuesday — North Korea’s first use of cruise missiles since June 2017 and a significant military escalation in recent weeks.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that North Korea fired what were presumed to be cruise missiles from the eastern city of Munchon, which flew roughly 93 miles off the coast, and later launched fighter jets which unloaded an unspecified number of air-to-surface missiles towards the same waters.

While the show of force came on the eve of the 108th birthday of North Korea’s late founder, Kim Il Sung — the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un — military drills had previously been scaled back in the country due to the coronavirus outbreak. According to the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, North Korea possesses only two known cruise missiles, making the demonstration unusual.

Last month, the country conducted its first missile test of the year, just days after South Korea announced it was postponing annual joint military exercises with the U.S. amid concern over the coronavirus. In recent weeks, North Korea has test-launched a number of short-range ballistic missiles and other weapons amid ongoing sanctions from the U.S., after negotiations to end the country’s nuclear program remain deadlocked.

North Korea has repeatedly stated it has avoided a coronavirus outbreak, but health experts are skeptical of the claim, with the U.S. State Department saying in February that it was “deeply concerned” about the North’s ability to halt coronavirus, due to its lack of medical equipment and weak healthcare infrastructure.

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