Thursday, November 5, 2026

North Korea says it launched long-range cruise and new anti-aircraft missiles the previous day, tested new technology

Input
2026-11-05 06:59:57
Updated
2026-11-05 06:59:57
North Korea's long-range cruise missile launch.
[Financial News] North Korea belatedly disclosed just a day later that it had test-fired a new anti-aircraft missile into the East Sea and also held a demonstration firepower drill by a long-range strategic cruise missile unit on the 4th. The previous day, on the day of the U.S. midterm elections, North Korea staged a show of force by launching a new missile, and Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), also expressed her intention to reject dialogue between North Korea and the United States.
On the 5th, the Korean Central News Agency reported that a test launch had been conducted on the 4th to verify the design and technical characteristics of a new anti-aircraft missile system.
Army General Kim Jong-sik, a member of the WPK Central Military Commission and first vice department director of the party's Central Committee, oversaw the test alongside leading officials from the Missile General Bureau and the national defense science research sector. No members of Kim Jong Un's family attended.
The Korean Central News Agency said the test had “verified the technical characteristics and reliability of new airframe materials and an intelligentized multi-composite guidance method, the anti-aircraft missile system's target identification and tracking capabilities, and detection-information processing equipment.”
North Korea also held a demonstration firepower drill on the same day by a firepower subunit under the long-range strategic cruise missile unit in the eastern district. It said the test and drills were intended to advance the technology of combat systems and improve the combat reliability of strategic weapons.
However, it did not provide specific missile specifications, flight distances, test-launch locations, targets or other details.
Earlier, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that North Korea had launched several missiles toward the East Sea from the area around Sondok, South Hamgyong Province, the previous morning.
The military assessed that the missiles had flown less than 300 km and is analyzing their specifications while considering various possibilities, including close-range ballistic missiles (CRBMs), surface-to-air missiles and cruise missiles.
North Korea's anti-aircraft (surface-to-air) missile launch. Korean Central News Agency/News 1

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