SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Kim Jong Un supervised the launch of two long-range cruise missiles, state media said Thursday, adding that the weapons had already been deployed to “tactical nuke” units of the North Korean army.
Kim has overseen a blitz of ballistic missile launches in recent weeks, which Pyongyang has described as tactical nuclear drills that simulated taking out airports and military facilities across South Korea.
The Wednesday test of the two cruise missiles aimed at “enhancing the combat efficiency” of the weapons, which were “deployed at the units of the Korean People’s Army for the operation of tactical nukes,” KCNA reported.
The cruise missiles — which travel at lower altitudes than ballistic missiles, making them harder to detect and intercept — flew 2,000 kilometers over the sea before hitting their targets, the Korean Central News Agency said.
Kim expressed “great satisfaction” with the tests, which he said showed the country’s nuclear combat forces were at “full preparedness for actual war” and sent a “clear warning to the enemies,” KCNA said.