By Kyu-seok Shim
SEOUL, April 14 (Reuters) - North Korea conducted another test of strategic cruise missiles and anti-warship missiles on Sunday as part of operational efficiency trials of its destroyer Choe Hyon, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.
Leader Kim Jong Un observed the test alongside senior defence officials and naval commanders, the report said.
Two strategic cruise missiles and three anti-warship missiles were fired to check the warship's integrated weapons command system, train crews in missile-launch
procedures and verify the accuracy and anti-jamming performance of upgraded navigation systems, KCNA said.
The cruise missiles flew for about 7,869 to 7,920 seconds and the anti-warship missiles for about 1,960 to 1,973 seconds over waters off the country's western coast, striking their targets with what the report described as ultra-precision accuracy.
KCNA said Kim was briefed the same day on weapons system plans for two additional destroyers under construction, indicating preparations for the third and fourth vessels of the Choe Hyon class.
Kim said strengthening what he called the country's nuclear war deterrent remained a top priority, and called for improving strategic and tactical strike capabilities and rapid-response readiness, the report said.
Pyongyang first test-fired L1N3R71KM weapons on the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon-class warship in April 2025, and in June Kim announced plans L1N3SF142 to build two additional destroyers in 2026 and commission two ships of the same or a more advanced class annually.
Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University, said the reference to a fourth destroyer appeared to be the first official acknowledgment of construction on the vessel beyond earlier announcements.
"The mention of the third and fourth destroyers suggests North Korea is accelerating the formation of a destroyer flotilla rather than fielding isolated platforms," Lim said, adding that faster follow-on production typically follows once initial testing is deemed successful.
Lim said weapons development L1N40Q11B appeared to be speeding up across multiple fronts as North Korea seeks to exploit global strategic distractions, including the conflicdt in the Middle East, to push ahead with irreversible advances in nuclear and delivery capabilities.
The North Korean embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Ed Davies)
