SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Thursday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised successful tests of two types of missiles — one designed to carry a “super-large conventional warhead” and the other likely for a nuclear warhead, as he ordered officials to bolster up his country’s military capabilities to repel United States-led threats.
The tests appear to be the same as the multiple missile launches that neighboring countries said North Korea performed Wednesday, extending its run of weapons displays as confrontations with the U.S. and South Korea escalate.
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A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missiles launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missiles launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows what it says a launch of an improved strategic cruise missile at an undisclosed place in North Korea Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, oversees a launch of, what it says, the country’s newly built Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 ballistic missile at an undisclosed place in North Korea Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
The official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim oversaw the launch of the country’s newly built Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 ballistic missile tipped with a dummy “4.5-ton super-large conventional warhead.” It said the test-firing was meant to verify an ability to accurately hit a 320 kilometer (200 mile) -range target, suggesting it’s a weapon aimed at striking sites in South Korea.
KCNA said Kim also guided the launch of an improved “strategic” cruise missile, a word implying the weapon was developed to carry a nuclear warhead.
After the tests, Kim stressed the need to continue to “bolster up the nuclear force” and acquire “overwhelming offensive capability in the field of conventional weapons, too,” according to KCNA. It cited the Kim as saying that North Korea can thwart its enemies’ intentions to invade only when it has strong military power.
KCNA released photos of a missile hitting a ground target. South Korea’s military said later Thursday it assessed that both ballistic and cruise missiles fired by North Korea the previous day landed in the North’s mountainous northeastern region.
North Korea typically test-launches missiles off its east coast, and it’s highly unusual for the country to fire missiles at land targets likely because of concerns about potential damages on the ground if the weapons land in unintended areas.
Jung Chang Wook, head of the Korea Defense Study Forum think tank in Seoul, said North Korea likely aims to show it’s confident about the the accuracy of its new ballistic missile. Jung said the missile's high-powered warhead is meant to attack ground targets, but North Korea hasn’t acquired weapons that can penetrate deep into the earth and destroy underground structures.
The Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 missile’s first known test occurred in early July. North Korea said the July test was successful as well, but South Korea’s military disputed the claim saying one of the two missiles fired by North Korea travelled abnormally during the initial stage of its flight before falling at an uninhabited area near Pyongyang, the capital. North Korea hasn’t released photos on the July launches.
North Korea has been pushing to introduce a variety of sophisticated weapons systems designed to attack both South Korea and the mainland U.S. to deal with what it calls its rivals’ intensifying security threats. Many foreign experts say North Korea would ultimately want to use its enlarged arsenal as leverage to win greater concessions in future dealings with the U.S.
Worries about North Korea deepened last week as it disclosed photos of a secretive facility to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. KCNA said that Kim, during a visit to the facility, called for stronger efforts to “exponentially” produce more nuclear weapons.
It was unclear whether the facility is at North Korea’s main Yongbyon nuclear complex. But it was the North’s first unveiling of a uranium-enrichment facility since it showed one at the country’s main Yongbyon nuclear complex to visiting American scholars led by nuclear physicist Siegfried Hecker in 2010.
In an analytical piece jointly written with another expert, Robert Carlin, that was posted Wednesday on North Korea-focused website 38 North, Hecker said the centrifuge hall shown in the recent North Korean photos was not the same one that he saw in November 2010.
Hecker and Carlin said they believe the new centrifuges provide “only a modest increased capacity,” though North Korea could increase enrichment capacity just by building more centrifuge plants.
In another joint analysis also posted Friday on 38 North, other experts said that the centrifuges shown in the photos are not the ones observed by Hecker but a more advanced design. They said the images send “a strong message that the country has ample capacity and continued will to expand its nuclear program.”
Follow AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missiles launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missiles launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows what it says a launch of an improved strategic cruise missile at an undisclosed place in North Korea Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, oversees a launch of, what it says, the country’s newly built Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 ballistic missile at an undisclosed place in North Korea Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Biden administration is determined in its final months to help ensure that Ukraine can keep fighting off Russia's full-scale invasion next year, sending it as much aid as possible so that it might hold Russian forces at bay and possess a strong hand in any potential peace negotiations, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.
“President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and Jan. 20,” when President-elect Donald Trump is due to be sworn in, Blinken said.
NATO countries must focus their efforts on “ensuring that Ukraine has the money, munitions and mobilized forces to fight effectively in 2025, or to be able to negotiate a peace from a position of strength,” Blinken said during a visit to Brussels.
The U.S. will “adapt and adjust” with the latest equipment it is sending, Blinken said, without providing details.
The almost three-year war has shown no signs of winding down.
Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with a sophisticated combination of missiles and drones for the first time in 73 days on Wednesday. That came a day after the State Department said most of the North Korean troops sent to help Moscow's war effort are fighting to drive Ukraine's army off Russian soil in the Kursk border region.
Ukraine is also straining to hold back a monthslong Russian onslaught in the eastern Donetsk region.
Political uncertainty over how a U.S. administration under Trump will change Washington’s policy on the war is a key new factor in the conflict. U.S. military aid is vital for Ukraine, but Trump has signaled that he doesn’t want to keep giving tens of billions of dollars to Kyiv.
Air raid warnings blared for hours as Russia targeted eight regions of Ukraine on Wednesday, firing six ballistic and cruise missiles and 90 drones, the Ukrainian air force said.
Air defenses downed four missiles and 37 drones, and another 47 drones were stopped by electronic jamming, the statement said. The damage was being assessed.
Meanwhile, most of the more than 10,000 North Korean troops sent by Pyongyang to help Moscow in the war are engaged in combat in Russia's Kursk border region, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters Tuesday. A Ukrainian army incursion into Kursk three months ago has succeeded in holding a broad area of land and has embarrassed the Kremlin.
Russia’s military has trained the North Korean soldiers in artillery, drone skills and basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, Patel said. The cooperation faces challenges, including how to achieve military interoperability and overcoming the language barrier, he said.
Kyiv officials say that Russia has deployed around 50,000 troops to Kursk in a bid to dislodge the Ukrainians.
Russia has in recent months been assembling forces for a counteroffensive in Kursk, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank, though the timescale of the operation isn't known.
Cook reported from Brussels.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
This story has been corrected to show that a spokesman from the State Department, not the Pentagon, provided information about North Korean soldiers in Russia.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, meets with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, left, in Brussels, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Nicolas Tucat, Pool Photo via AP)
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, left, waits for the start of a meeting with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brussels, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Nicolas Tucat, Pool Photo via AP)
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Nicolas Tucat, Pool Photo via AP)
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives for a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Nicolas Tucat, Pool Photo via AP)
In this photo taken from a video released by Russian Defense Ministry press service on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, the Russian army's multiple rocket launcher Solntsepyok fires towards Ukrainian positions in the border area of Kursk region, Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Nov. 13, 2024, rescue workers extinguish a fire of a building destroyed by a Russian strike in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Nov. 13, 2024, rescue workers extinguish a fire of a building destroyed by a Russian strike in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Nov. 13, 2024, rescue workers clear the rubble of a building destroyed by a Russian strike in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Nov. 13, 2024, Rescue workers put out a fire of a building which was destroyed by a Russian strike in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Nov. 13, 2024, rescue workers extinguish a fire of a building destroyed by a Russian strike in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, meets with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, left, in Brussels, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Nicolas Tucat, Pool Photo via AP)
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, left, waits for the start of a meeting with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brussels, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Nicolas Tucat, Pool Photo via AP)
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Nicolas Tucat, Pool Photo via AP)
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives for a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Nicolas Tucat, Pool Photo via AP)
In this photo taken from a video released by Russian Defense Ministry press service on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, the Russian army's multiple rocket launcher Solntsepyok fires towards Ukrainian positions in the border area of Kursk region, Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Nov. 13, 2024, rescue workers extinguish a fire of a building destroyed by a Russian strike in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Nov. 13, 2024, rescue workers extinguish a fire of a building destroyed by a Russian strike in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Nov. 13, 2024, rescue workers clear the rubble of a building destroyed by a Russian strike in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Nov. 13, 2024, Rescue workers put out a fire of a building which was destroyed by a Russian strike in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Nov. 13, 2024, rescue workers extinguish a fire of a building destroyed by a Russian strike in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)