North Korea test-fires strategic cruise missile, other weapons from Kang Kon naval destroyer

North Korea has test-fired a strategic cruise missile and other weapons from its new warship, Kang Kon, a 5,000-ton multipurpose destroyer measuring 140 meters in length.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Sunday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing on Friday.

The tests included a cruise missile, naval artillery, automatic guns and electronic warfare systems aboard the Kang Kon destroyer. Kim said the drills were intended to examine and confirm the destroyer's ability to "apply various kinds of weapon systems on board the destroyer in combat."

After witnessing the successful tests, Kim ordered the warship to be commissioned into the country's navy within two months, KCNA said.

In a speech at the vessel's launching ceremony last June, Kim said the destroyer has "anti-aircraft, anti-ship, anti-submarine and anti-ballistic missile capabilities."

He also said it is capable of firing nuclear strategic cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles. Kim called on the country's armed forces to make greater efforts to strengthen North Korea's war deterrent and combat capability.

Kim has also pledged to soon begin launching the country's new 10,000-tonne-class strategic warships.

North Korea's Kim orders navy ships to be equipped with nuclear weapons

The North Korean leader orders naval ships to be quickly equipped with nuclear weapons, as Pyongyang test fires a new warship weapon system.

In the meantime, South Korean media cited military sources as saying that the North's test-firing had been detected by Seoul's military apparatus.

According to Yonhap, the South's military confirmed that a cruise missile was fired from the warship in the direction of the East Sea on Friday.

It reported that the military analysts in the South and the United States were busy analyzing the specifics of the missile launch.

South Korea and the United States are technically at war with North Korea because their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a decisive peace treaty.

Pyongyang says continuous provocations by South Korea and the United States have pushed the region "to the brink of a nuclear war."

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