We and our partners do the following data processing based on your consent: store and/or access information on a device, personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development North Korea test-fires submarine-launched cruise missiles amid rising tensions North Korea test-fired two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles on Wednesday,state media KCNA reported Thursday,saying the launches posed no threat to neighbouring countries.The tests follow heightened tensions with South Korea after a September 21 landmine explosion in the Demilitarised Zone injured three South Korean soldiers. A combination picture shows what KCNA says are two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles being tested on October 14, 2026. © KCNA, via North Korea has test-fired two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles, state news agency KCNA said Thursday. The agency said the missiles were fired Wednesday into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, without "any adverse impact on the security of neighboring countries".
The reported launch came after weeks of mounting friction over a landmine explosion along the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea. Three South Korean soldiers were injured in the September 21 blast in the Seoul-controlled area of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), with both countries testing upgraded missile technology in the aftermath. The latest testing "aimed to examine the current mobilized posture of the underwater combat systems" and served as a Navy training exercise, KCNA said.
The tests showed the "high reliability, trustworthiness and ability of the war deterrents of the DPRK," the agency reported, referring to North Korea by the abbreviation of the country's official name. Photos released by KCNA showed one missile blasting vertically out of the sea trailed by a thick plume of smoke. Another photo appeared to show a projectile erupting from the water at a 45-degree angle.
Read moreNorth Korea launches ballistic missile as tensions with Seoul grow over border mine blasts Other images showed a missile flying horizontally over the sea, as well as a submarine traveling on the water's surface. North Korea has carried out several missile launches from submarines in recent years, although its sea-based launch capabilities remain unclear. Cruise missiles tend to be jet-propelled and fly at a lower altitude than more sophisticated ballistic missiles, making them harder to detect and intercept.
Proven submarine-launched ballistic missile capability would take North Korea's arsenal to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a second-strike capability in the event of an attack. North Korea has carried out multiple ballistic missile tests in October, most recently on Monday. The two Koreas have engaged in a tit-for-tat series of missile tests this month, with both sides test-firing hypersonic weapons.
South Korea test-fired its first homegrown hypersonic missile last week, days after Pyongyang said it had launched an AI-assisted intermediate-range hypersonic missile. Seoul and Pyongyang remain technically at war as the Korean conflict ended in 1953 with a truce rather than a peace treaty. North Korea fires multiple ballistic missiles off east coast, Seoul says South Korea president proposes talks with Pyongyang to formally end Korean War 1. 1 ## Adieu aux ‘Enfants Rouges’: Tears and shock as fire destroys Paris’s oldest covered food market On the ground France Includes a video 1 min 2. 2 ## Fire destroys Paris's oldest covered food market France Includes a video 1 min 3. 3 ## 'Unprecedented' cyberattack targets refrigeration units at hundreds of French supermarkets France 4. 4 ## El Nino breaks Pacific temperature record as weather pattern intensifies Environment 5. 5 ## French students ‘not giving up the fight’ as 480,000 join new day of school protests As it happened Europe 6. 6 ## Russia targets Ukraine energy facilities despite Trump ceasefire announcement As it happened Europe © 2026 Copyright France 24 - All rights reserved.
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