Report comes two days after ballistic missile launch

Flight trajectory screen shows 'Hwaseong-11Ma-1'

North Korea's Missile General Bureau successfully tested a new weapon of significant importance to advancing weapons system technology on Sunday, with leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Ju-ae in attendance, KCNA reported Tuesday. [Yonhap]
North Korea's Missile General Bureau successfully tested a new weapon of significant importance to advancing weapons system technology on Sunday, with leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Ju-ae in attendance, KCNA reported Tuesday. [Yonhap]

North Korea's Missile General Bureau "successfully conducted a test of a new weapon of significant importance to the advancement of weapons system technology" on Sunday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday. Leader Kim Jong-un attended the test launch in person alongside his daughter Ju-ae.

KCNA said the test "did not have any negative impact on the safety of neighboring countries" and described it as "a normal extension of activities" by the Missile General Bureau and its affiliated Agency for Defense Development institutes in pursuit of the country's national defense policy.

Kim called the test "a demonstration of cutting-edge national defense technology and a remarkable upgrade in the modernization of our armed forces," adding that it was "literally a force majeure."

He said the acquisition of such technology "holds critical significance for the state's war preparedness and the future development of our armed forces," and claimed that "our adversaries understand better than anyone — without explanation — what such a military-technological upgrade means, and for our enemies, this reality will serve as a very harsh and inevitable baptism."

The Rodong Sinmun also covered the test Sunday, publishing multiple photographs from the launch site. In the images, a monitor visible to Kim and Ju-ae displays the text "Hwaseong-11Ma-1 flight trajectory."

According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea fired one short-range ballistic missile into the East Sea at around 3 p.m. Sunday, then launched a second missile roughly three hours later.


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