North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a strategic cruise missile launch drill while visiting a naval unit, state-run media said Monday, with released photographs also showing him boarding a new type of patrol vessel with improved stealth capabilities.
The date Kim visited the unit, belonging to the fleet that covers the Sea of Japan, remains unknown. The official Korean Central News Agency reported on the inspection as South Korea and the United States began a joint large-scale military exercise Monday.
Kim "praised the ship" that he boarded "for maintaining high mobility and mighty striking power and constant preparedness for combat to cope" with any sudden situation, KCNA said.
He also stressed the importance of promoting the modernization of naval weapons and equipment, including the building of powerful warships and the development of shipboard and underwater weapons systems to rapidly enhance the navy's combat capabilities.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted an informed source as saying the test-fired cruise missile was not a "strategic" nuclear-capable one as the size of the vessel was too small for such an important missile launch. The source added that the missile failed to hit an apparently preset target, the report said Monday.
The KCNA report came amid speculation that Pyongyang is preparing an intercontinental ballistic missile test timed to coincide with the Seoul-Washington joint exercise.
On Friday, a spokesman for the General Staff of the North Korean army condemned the intrusion of airspace above the country's economic zone in the Sea of Japan the previous day by a U.S. strategic reconnaissance plane, a statement carried by KCNA said.
The country's General Staff is examining a plan to maintain a constant deployment of a ship loaded with a new type of anti-aircraft missiles in waters about 450 kilometers from Wonsan, a port city on North Korea's east coast, the statement said.
Related coverage:
South Korea, U.S. begin joint military drills amid North Korea threat
North Korea's ICBM launch success likely due to Russia help: U.S. expert
Japan, U.S., Australia eye ship deployment to Philippines for drill
