North Korea just launched a ballistic missile

According to NK News, on the afternoon of April 22, the South Korean military said North Korea launched a ballistic missile off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula.

Meanwhile, a warning from the Japanese government also said that North Korea had launched an object that could be a ballistic missile.

The launch took place just a few days after the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on the afternoon of April 19 that the country had tested the power of a super-large warhead for the strategic cruise missile Hwasal-1 Ra-3, as well as test-launched a new type of air defense missile Pyoljji-1-2 in the waters west of the Korean Peninsula (Yellow Sea).

Both launches were part of the routine activities of the North Korean Rocket Force and relevant defense science institutes to accelerate technological development in various aspects such as tactical effectiveness, technical performance, and operational methods of new-type weapon systems.

Earlier this month, North Korean media confirmed that the country had successfully test-fired a new generation of medium-range hypersonic missiles with strategic military value.

North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that leader Kim Jong-un on April 2 supervised the first test-firing of the Hwasongpho-16B missile, a medium-range ballistic missile that uses solid fuel and is equipped with a recently developed hypersonic warhead.

According to KCNA, the missile test was aimed at confirming the technical specifications of the new missile in general and demonstrating the reliability of the weapon system.