North Korea says it tested rail-launched ballistic missiles
CBC
North Korea said Thursday it successfully launched ballistic missiles from a train for the first time and was continuing to bolster its defences, after the two Koreas test-fired missiles hours apart in duelling displays of military might.
Wednesday's launches underscored a return of the tensions between the rivals amid a prolonged stalemate in U.S.-led talks aimed at stripping North Korea of its nuclear weapons program.
Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said the missiles were launched during a drill of a "railway-borne missile regiment" that transported the weapons system along rail tracks in the country's mountainous central region and accurately struck a sea target 800 kilometres away.
State media showed what appeared to be two different missiles streaking up from rail-car launchers engulfed in orange flames along tracks surrounded by dense forest.
A rail-based ballistic system reflects North Korea's efforts to diversify its launch options, which now include various vehicles and ground launch pads and may eventually include submarines. Firing a missile from a train could add mobility, but some experts say North Korea's simple rail networks running through its relatively small territory would be quickly destroyed by enemies during a crisis.
"Our military assesses that North Korea is continuously developing various mobile launch equipment," said Col. Kim Jun-rak, a spokesperson for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. He said the South Korean and U.S. militaries were continuing to examine the North's launches.
The South Korean and Japanese militaries said earlier that North Korea's two short-range ballistic missiles landed inside Japan's exclusive economic zone but outside its territorial waters. The last time a North Korean missile landed inside that zone was in October 2019.
