Overview
- State media said two long-range strategic cruise missiles launched Sunday over the Yellow Sea flew more than 10,000 seconds each and struck a target, while South Korea detected multiple launches from the Sunan area near Pyongyang.
- Kim Jong Un called for the unlimited and sustained development of the country's nuclear combat force and framed regular reliability checks of nuclear deterrent components as a responsible exercise.
- KCNA described the drill as a review of counteroffensive posture and combat readiness for long-range missile units, marking the latest in a series of weapons activities this month.
- Days earlier, North Korea released images of a purported 8,700‑ton nuclear-powered strategic guided-missile submarine under construction, but independent confirmation of a functioning reactor or operational systems is lacking and experts caution it may not be close to deployment.
- Pyongyang has condemned Washington's approval for South Korea to build nuclear-powered attack submarines and criticized a recent U.S. submarine visit to Busan, while analyst speculation about possible Russian assistance to the North's submarine program remains unverified and disputed.