[Edaily Reporter Kim In-kyoung ] North Korea announced on the 15th that it had test-fired two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles (SLCMs) in the East Sea. It is believed that North Korea launched the “Hwasal-2” and “Bulhwasal-3-31” from the “Hero Kim Gun-ok,” a 3,000-metric-ton tactical nuclear attack submarine.

On the 15th, the Korean Central News Agency reported, “The General Bureau of Missiles test-fired two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles in the East Sea of Korea on the 14th.” The agency explained, “The test launches contributed to inspecting the routine mobilization readiness of underwater combat systems and honing the Navy’s ability to carry out strategic missions, and helped demonstrate the high reliability, credibility, and capability of the DPRK’s war deterrence capabilities.” It added, “The test launches did not have any negative impact on the security of neighboring countries.”

Kim Jong-sik, First Deputy Director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea; Jang Chang-ha, Director of the Missile Bureau; and engineers from the Korean People’s Army Navy’s Underwater Weapons Systems Department observed the launch. Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, did not attend.

News of this test launch was reported only by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a media outlet for international audiences, and was not published in the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers’ Party read by North Korean citizens. This move is interpreted as an attempt to emphasize military strength and strengthen negotiating leverage with the U.S., with an eye toward the possibility of North Korea-U.S. dialogue—as evidenced by the display of hypersonic missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) at the Museum of the Defense Revolution.

Although the news agency did not disclose specific technical details such as the missile’s flight time or range, it released photographs showing the submarine underway, the missile being launched underwater with a trail of flames, and the missile in flight.

Experts believe the submarine shown in the photos is the new 3,000-metric-ton Hero Kim Gun-ok, which was launched in September 2023. The photographs show that the bridge of the submarine, which is surfacing and navigating, features a two-tiered structure—with the front section elevated and the rear section one step lower, ending at an angle—which matches the bridge of the Hero Kim Gun-ok submarine previously revealed by North Korean state media. Furthermore, this launch appears to be an attempt to gather data on long-range and short-range cruise missiles in order to determine which types of munitions to deploy on nuclear-powered submarines (SSGNs).

Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Unification, assessed, “This is the first time two types of missiles with different diameters, lengths, and launch methods have been fired simultaneously from a submarine, demonstrating its integration capabilities.” He added, “This signifies an intention to extend the ‘single-platform, multi-warhead’ operational capability achieved on land to the maritime domain to increase the uncertainty of deterrence, and to use it as a means to fill the gap in underwater nuclear deterrence until the completion of a nuclear-powered submarine.”

Meanwhile, South Korean military authorities did not disclose the missile launch the previous day. However, it was reported that they had been tracking and monitoring related activities even before the launch. Typically, unlike ballistic missiles, the military does not fully disclose details of cruise missile launches to the media. On that day, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) stated, “Our military continuously tracked and monitored the movements of the North Korean cruise missiles launched yesterday through various means, from the pre-launch phase through flight to the terminal phase.”