North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen the test-firing of the country’s latest anti-aircraft missile system, according to state media, as Russia’s security chief arrived in Pyongyang for talks.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday that the latest test proved that the new weapons are “highly reliable”, adding that the country’s combat response was “advantageous”.
The announcement came just a day after South Korea wrapped up an annual joint military exercise with the US, which Pyongyang separately denounced on Friday as “a rehearsal of war of aggression”.
KCNA said Thursday’s test conducted by North Korea’s Missile Administration was to examine the performance of a system whose production has already begun.
The report did not specify where the test was held but said Kim was joined by members of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.
The agency quoted Kim as saying that the test proved that its army “would be “equipped with another major defence weapon system with laudable combat performance”.
Photographs supplied by KCNA showed a plume from a missile soaring into the sky and a midair explosion. Other images showed Kim apparently observing the test and then smiling.
South Korea’s military was aware in advance of a possible missile launch which ended up taking place at about 9am (00:00 GMT) on Thursday in North Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing an official from the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
Experts said Pyongyang might be receiving help from Russia for the anti-aircraft missile system, particularly given how security ties have become increasingly entwined.
Shin Seung-ki, head of research on North Korea’s military at the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, told the Reuters news agency that because of the “strengthening of cooperation” with Russia, it is “highly likely” that Moscow gave Pyongyang what it demanded in building the new weapons.
Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, told the AFP news agency that the latest launch appears to be “the testing of weapons for export to Russia to be used in Ukraine”.
Russian official visits
On Friday, Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu arrived in Pyongyang to meet with Kim and other officials, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.
Earlier this month, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko also travelled to Pyongyang, where he met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui.
Last year, South Korea’s national security adviser said Russia had provided North Korea with anti-air missiles and air defence equipment in return for sending troops to support Moscow in its war against Ukraine.
Analysts said more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Russia to help it fight Ukraine.
Seoul’s spy agency said last month that the North has sent more soldiers and re-deployed several to the front line in Russia’s border region of Kursk.
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