Follow-Up: KCNA: North Korea Test-Fires Two Types of Submarine-Launched Strategic Cruise Missiles; South Korea's Military Says It Tracked the Activity
SEOUL — North Korea's Missile Administration test-fired two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) on October 14, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on October 15. Kim Jong-sik, first vice department director of the Workers' Party Central Committee, and Jang Chang-ha, head of the Missile Administration, observed the launches alongside naval engineers specializing in underwater weapons systems, according to KCNA as reported by South Korea's AJP.
KCNA said the test launches contributed to checking the routine operational readiness of the country's underwater combat systems and improving the navy's ability to carry out strategic missions, and demonstrated the reliability of its war deterrence systems; it added that the launches had no negative impact on the security of neighboring countries. KCNA provided no details on the launch location or flight performance, and did not specify whether the missiles were fired from a submarine or an underwater test platform. The report appeared only on KCNA and was not carried by the Rodong Sinmun, the Workers' Party newspaper distributed domestically.
The public affairs chief of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff told AJP that the military had been aware of the activity, and that it does not normally announce cruise missile launches, announcing only ballistic missile launches. The tests were North Korea's second reported missile launches of the week: KCNA reported that tactical ballistic missiles were fired from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea on Monday, and said on Tuesday that that launch was intended to confirm the success of research into the technical upgrading of an important core element.
(Sources: AJP, Korean Central News Agency, October 15, 2026)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：朝鲜半岛夜间卫星图（资料照片）。NASA 地球观测站图片（Joshua Stevens 制图，使用 Suomi NPP 卫星 VIIRS 数据），公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons / Photo: The Korean Peninsula at night from space (file photo). NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using Suomi NPP VIIRS data, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
