North Korea’s cluster warhead test can wipe out 12 hectaresWorld

A cluster warhead opens in mid-air and scatters many smaller munitions over a wide area, rather than striking a single point. That design makes it effective against dispersed targets such as troops, vehicles, artillery positions and airfields, according to defence analysts who have described how such weapons work.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had detected a missile fired from the Jongju area in North Pyongan Province toward the West Sea, also known as the Yellow Sea. The South Korean military said it had been tracking related activity in close cooperation with the United States before the launch and maintained a readiness posture.

According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s military did not announce the launch on the day it happened, a break from its usual practice of reporting North Korean ballistic missile launches in real time. Yonhap reported that the military wanted to complete its analysis first, because the missile appeared to have flown a short range at a low altitude for a warhead test.

The test was overseen by Full General Kim Jong Sik, a member of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, according to the state media report. The Ballistic Missile System Institute and the Warhead Institute of the Missile Administration were reported to have taken part in assessing the result.

North Korea’s Missile Administration said four types of cluster warheads will be available for its military units to use before the end of the year, depending on their operational needs and the nature of their targets. State media did not give the missile’s flight distance, launch site or time, and leader Kim Jong Un was not reported to have attended the test.

Shin Jong-woo, secretary-general of the Seoul-based Korea Defence and Security Forum, was reported as identifying the missile as the Hwasong-11Na, known as KN-24 and described as North Korea’s version of the United States ATACMS system. Photos released by state media showed the missile launching, the warhead bursting in mid-air and explosions across a target area, according to Yonhap.

The test follows an earlier trial in April, when North Korea said it had tested cluster munitions mounted on a Hwasong-11 Ra tactical ballistic missile. It also came days after North Korea fired around 10 short-range ballistic missiles from its east coast toward the sea, in a demonstration linked to a drone exhibition.

The test was reported as South Korea, the United States and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.