North Korea said Thursday it has test-fired a new-type strategic cruise missile for the first time, state-run media reported, with the missile believed to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Wednesday's test of the Pulhwasal-3-31 missile under development, which means "flaming arrow" in Korean, had no impact on the security of neighboring countries and nothing to do with the regional situation, the official Korean Central News Agency said, without providing details.
The South Korean military detected the launch into the Yellow Sea of several cruise missiles by North Korea on Wednesday morning, amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea's Missile Administration described the test-firing as "a process of constant updating of the weapon system" and its "regular and obligatory activity," KCNA said.
The launch followed the testing by Pyongyang of Hwasal-1 and Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missiles in March last year, which flew on programmed oval and figure-eight paths of 1,500 to 1,800 kilometers. The range of the Hwasal series cruise missiles, meaning "arrow," could cover Japan.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not observe Wednesday's missile test as he was attending an enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.
