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North Korea tested a cluster-bomb warhead for a tactical ballistic missile on Saturday to assess its combat use and destructive power, state media reported Sunday.
The test was carried out by the country’s Missile Administration and overseen by Gen. Kim Jong Sik, a member of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party and first deputy director of a department of the party’s Central Committee, according to the Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA.
North Korea said the test showed its “Type-2 standard cluster warhead” could devastate an area of about 12 to 13 hectares, or 29 to 32 acres, at what officials described as “ultra-high density.”
The head of the Missile Administration said North Korea classifies its cluster warheads into four categories, including standard and special-purpose types.
He said all four types would be made available to military units by the end of this year so they could select warheads according to operational objectives and target characteristics.
The Missile Administration described the launch as part of regular scientific research aimed at increasing the destructive power of North Korea’s weapons systems.
Photos released by KCNA showed a projectile launching from a mobile platform with an orange exhaust plume, while another image showed multiple impacts on an island target.
The latest test came after North Korea recently trialed several other weapons systems, including attack drones, a new precision-guided torpedo system and an intermediate-range hypersonic missile.
It also followed rising tensions over a landmine explosion along the heavily fortified inter-Korean border that wounded three South Korean soldiers.
North Korea denied responsibility for the incident and said it would further fortify its border areas and resume its loudspeaker campaign.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not attend Saturday’s test, although he had overseen a test-launch of cluster-bomb warheads mounted on a ballistic missile in April alongside his daughter Ju Ae.
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