Overview
- State media said Kim Jong Un observed a long-range surface-to-air missile test that struck mock targets at roughly 200 kilometers altitude over the East Sea.
- South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff detected several presumed surface-to-air missiles launched around 5 p.m. from near Sondok and said details are under joint analysis with the United States.
- KCNA published photos of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine under construction that Kim inspected inside an assembly hall alongside his daughter, Kim Ju Ae.
- Kim denounced Seoul’s U.S.-backed nuclear-powered submarine pursuit as an offensive act and pledged to push the nuclear weaponization of the navy and reorganize naval forces.
- Independent experts said the largely completed hull suggests key components—possibly including a reactor—may be in place, but they cautioned that operational capability and timelines remain uncertain.