North Korea tests new air-defense missile system, state media reports
The state-run KCNA said the test confirmed technical specifications, the fourth weapons test by Pyongyang in a week.
North Korea tested a newly designed advanced air-defense missile system on Wednesday, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
Gen. Kim Jong Sik, a member of the Central Military Commission, guided the test-fire, which aimed to confirm the technical specifications of the system, the North's state media agency KCNA reported.
KCNA said the test proved the reliability of a new material and an intelligent multiple guided mode for the projectile, as well as the target identification and tracking capability of the system and its detection information processing device.
In a separate test the same day, a North Korean military long-range strategic cruise missile unit in the eastern area carried out a fire strike drill, KCNA said, without specifying the region.
The unit's sub-unit 'perfectly performed its mission' by striking a virtual airport target with a long-range strategic cruise missile, the report added.
The launch was the fourth such test in a week, following a 600-millimeter 'ultra-precision' multiple rocket launcher fired the previous Thursday.
North Korea also tested a cluster bomb mounted on tactical ballistic missiles on Saturday and a 'dispersal warhead' for a strategic cruise missile on Monday.
The back-to-back tests came as South Korea and the United States held joint drills and tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang remained high.
Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for an explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone on Sept. 21 that wounded three South Korean soldiers.
North Korea has rejected the accusations and has not responded to Seoul's offer to restore military communication to ease tensions.
