North Korea says it tested cruise missile cluster warhead

North Korea’s Missile General Bureau conducted a power evaluation test of a cluster warhead for a strategic cruise missile and a vertical strike flight test on Monday, the state news agency KCNA reported, in a report carried by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. The bureau’s warhead institute said the test confirmed a medium sized cluster warhead fitted to a cruise missile could devastate a target area of five to six hectares, and its cruise missile institute said it had improved the missile’s terminal phase maneuvering to complete a vertical strike capability.

The reported test follows an October 31 test of a cluster warhead for a tactical ballistic missile, so Pyongyang is presenting cluster warheads for both missile types. Yonhap noted the test was not published in North Korea’s domestic facing party newspaper. No South Korean or United States official reaction was reported, and the claims rest on North Korean state media alone.