North Korea tests 'new type of ballistic missile’ capable of carrying 4.5-ton class warhead

By Anadolu staff

North Korea said Tuesday it successfully test-fired a “new type of ballistic missile” capable of carrying a 4.5-ton class warhead.

Pyongyang also announced it would later this month test a new type of tactical ballistic missile, the Hwasongpho-11Da-4.5, to verify flight characteristics, the Korean Central News Agency reported.

"The test-fire (on Monday) was conducted with a missile tipped with a simulated heavy warhead to verify flight stability and hit accuracy at the maximum range of 500 km (310-mile) and the minimum range of 90 km (56-mile)," according to the Missile Administration.

The South Korean military said Monday that Pyongyang launched two suspected ballistic missiles and one of the “launches possibly failed and the missile landed inside the country."

Pyongyang last week launched a similar missile, calling it a "successful" test involving a missile with multiple warheads.

​​​​​​​The launch of the missiles comes two days after South Korea, the US and Japan concluded three-day all-domain military exercises on the Korean Peninsula.

Pyongyang condemned the trilateral drill as the “Asian NATO,” and vowed to protect its sovereignty.

South Korea, meanwhile, resumed live-fire drills on Tuesday at artillery ranges near the border with North Korea for the first time in six years.

"The firing drills, the first such exercise to be conducted on land after exercises were normalized following the government's complete suspension of the September 19 Military Agreement, focused on bolstering artillery readiness and response capabilities in the event of enemy provocations," Seoul-based Yonhap News reported, citing the army.

About 140 rounds, using K9 and K105A1 self-propelled howitzers, were fired at the front-line ranges in the provinces of Gyeonggi and Gangwon during the exercises, it said.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid