In brief
North Korea tested a cluster bomb on Saturday, resolving to deploy multiple variants by the end of the year, Yonhap reported. The test, overseen by General Kim Jong‑sik, demonstrated a 12‑13 hectare kill zone from the warhead’s highest‑density power. An earlier April test on a Hwasong‑11 missile was also confirmed by state media.
North Korea conducted a test of a cluster bomb capable of being mounted on tactical ballistic missiles on Saturday, according to state media reports released Monday, Yonhap notes. The test was overseen by General Kim Jong‑sik, a member of the Workers' Party Central Military Commission.
The test—performed by the North's Missile Administration—was aimed at evaluating the cluster bomb’s adaptation to combat and power when integrated with tactical ballistic missiles, as KCNA said.
According to KCNA, research institutes under the Missile Administration confirmed that the standard Type 2 cluster‑bomb warhead could devastate an area of 12 to 13 hectares with its highest‑density warhead.
The general director of the Missile Administration said the cluster‑bomb warheads are classified into four categories depending on their purposes and that units will be able to select and use all types within the year, according to operational aims and specific target features.
General Director of the Missile Administration:
Within this year we will enable units to select and use all those types according to operational aims and specific features of targets.
In April, the North asserted that it had tested cluster bombs mounted on the Hwasong‑11 tactical ballistic missile, a launch reported to have been overseen by leader Kim Jong‑un and his daughter Ju‑ae, to evaluate warhead power and fragmentation mine warhead capabilities.
The state media called the test part of a broader effort that, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea says, will see several variants of cluster warheads enter service by year‑end.
