North Korea Tests Two Types of Submarine-Launched Cruise Missiles

North Korea tested two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles on 14 October in the sea off its east coast, state media reported the following day.

The Korean Central News Agency said the firings examined the “current mobilised posture of the underwater combat systems” and helped the navy practise strategic missions. Senior officers, including Kim Jong-sik of the Workers’ Party Central Military Commission and Jang Chang-ha, director-general of the Missile Administration, observed the tests. KCNA stated that the launches had no adverse effect on neighbouring countries. Photographs released by the agency showed one missile rising vertically from the water with a thick smoke plume and another emerging at an angle, consistent with different launch methods.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that it monitored the activity from pre-launch through the terminal phase. A spokesperson said one missile appeared to leave a vertical launch system and the other a torpedo tube. Analysts noted that the images suggested the launches took place from the Kim Kun Ok Hero, a modified diesel submarine North Korea unveiled in 2023. The country is not believed to have a modern missile submarine in full operational service yet; developing that capability remains a priority for leader Kim Jong Un.

The tests come days after North Korea fired multiple tactical ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on 13 October. They also follow a landmine explosion in the Demilitarised Zone last month that injured three South Korean soldiers and further strained relations. The “strategic” designation in the KCNA report indicates the missiles may be nuclear-capable, though no warhead details were given. One of the systems is believed to be related to the Pulhwasal-3-31 cruise missile previously tested from land.

Submarine-launched cruise missiles offer North Korea a platform that is harder to detect and destroy in advance, potentially providing a second-strike option if the country can field reliable boats. Current launches still appear to rely on older or modified hulls. The absence of any mention in the domestic newspaper Rodong Sinmun, while the story appeared in the foreign-facing KCNA, is consistent with Pyongyang’s pattern of highlighting military activity for external audiences without domestic fanfare.

The timing coincides with the opening of the New Yalu River Bridge with China and continued high-level contact with Russia. South Korean and US monitoring assets tracked the missiles throughout their flights. No immediate diplomatic response was issued, but the tests add to a series of launches that have occurred while the two Koreas remain in a period of elevated tension over the border incident and differing approaches to the United States.