Overview
- State media said Kim Jong Un oversaw the launch of multiple long-range strategic cruise missiles over the Yellow Sea and called for the unlimited expansion of nuclear combat forces.
- KCNA reported the missiles flew preset orbits for about 10,200 seconds before striking a target, while South Korea detected launches from the Sunan area near Pyongyang.
- The test came days after North Korea released images of a nearly completed 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided-missile submarine hull under construction.
- Pyongyang condemned Washington's approval for South Korea to build nuclear-powered attack submarines and labeled the recent USS Greeneville port call in Busan as destabilizing.
- Analysts in Seoul raised the possibility of Russian technical assistance for the submarine program, but experts stressed there is no independent verification of a functioning reactor or operational readiness.