North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile equipped with a cluster warhead for the second time in 11 days, showcasing its strike capability against the South. Analysts say Pyongyang is emphasizing its ability to target key South Korea-US assets, including the Seoul metropolitan area and the US Forces Korea base in Pyeongtaek, signaling an intent to block American reinforcements in the event of a contingency.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Wednesday that North Korea's Missile Administration conducted a test the previous day to evaluate the warhead power of the upgraded short-range ballistic missile "Hwasongpho-11Ra." The agency said the purpose of the test was "to verify the characteristics and power of the scatterable warhead (cluster bomb) and the fragmentation mine warhead (airborne mine dispersal munition) applied to the tactical ballistic missile." North Korea, which had tested cluster warheads from the 6th to the 8th of this month, conducted another test just 11 days later.
Pyongyang took the unusual step of releasing footage of the test launch. The images showed the missile being fired from the end of a breakwater, with cluster munitions striking Al Island. The Hwasongpho-11Ra used in this test appears to be a downsized version of the KN-23, known as the "North Korean Iskander," and is distinguished by its enhanced lethality achieved by loading the warhead with cluster bombs and airborne mine dispersal munitions.
A cluster bomb contains dozens to hundreds of submunitions inside a single warhead, which explode in mid-air and scatter the submunitions in all directions. Because each submunition is difficult to intercept and the lethality is indiscriminate, such weapons are also called "devil's weapons." The airborne mine dispersal munition, mentioned by North Korea for the first time, appears to be a "scatter mine" that does not explode immediately on impact but instead functions as a landmine. Analysts say scattering such mines could effectively block the enemy's military maneuvers in the targeted area.
North Korea particularly emphasized the power of the cluster munitions in this test, claiming that five missiles "struck an island target 136 kilometers away with high density over an area of 12.5 to 13 hectares." The claim amounts to devastating an area equivalent to about 18 soccer fields, roughly doubling the destruction range compared to the previous test's claim of 6.5 to 7 hectares, or about 10 soccer fields. After watching Israel's air defense system being neutralized by Iranian cluster munitions, North Korea appears to be intensifying its cluster bomb experiments.
Kim Jong-un, chairman of the State Affairs Commission, who observed the test launch site with his daughter Ju-ae, expressed "great satisfaction" with the results. "Scatterable warheads for various purposes have been developed and introduced, enabling efficient fulfillment of the military's operational requirements," he said.
Analysts say that by intensifying pressure on key South Korea-US assets with short-range missiles combined with specialized warheads, North Korea is moving toward blocking US intervention in a contingency. Hong Min, senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said, "A 136-kilometer radius covers Seoul, the US Forces Korea base in Pyeongtaek, Osan Air Base, and the Cheonan-Asan area. It is highly threatening because it can strike the most sensitive target groups of the South Korea-US combined forces." Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, said, "This test appears to aim at completing tactical deterrence and blocking US intervention. It seeks to maximize the strategic burden and military intervention costs for the United States in a contingency."
