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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test of a “new-type weapon” system and praised it as evidence of advancing military technology, state media reported Tuesday, two days after South Korea and Japan said Pyongyang launched two short-range ballistic missiles into waters off its east coast.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, said the country’s missile bureau successfully tested the new weapon Sunday in Kim’s presence.
Pyongyang did not specify the type of weapon tested.
Kim described the launch as “undoubtedly a striking demonstration of ultra-modern defense technology” and said the advance would give adversaries “an incurable headache and a very cruel and unavoidable blow,” according to KCNA.
Kim said acquiring the technology was significant for North Korea’s war readiness and the future development of its armed forces.
The Sunday launch came eight days after North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, in what Pyongyang later described as a joint firepower drill.
That exercise involved long-range artillery and missiles, which state media said hit their targets with “100 percent accuracy.”
South Korea condemned the latest launches as violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions and urged North Korea to halt its ballistic missile activities.
Japan also lodged a “stern protest,” describing the launches as a threat to regional peace and security.
North Korea has enshrined its status as a nuclear-armed state in law, while its leadership has repeatedly described its nuclear arsenal as permanent and irreversible.
Last week, Pyongyang rejected an International Atomic Energy Agency resolution calling on it to halt its nuclear activities.
A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the resolution “has no effect on the DPRK’s position as a nuclear weapons state,” using the acronym for the country’s official name.
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of Kim Jong Un, has also said North Korea’s nuclear status is “absolute” and called those seeking the country’s denuclearization “idiots.”
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