N Korea test fires ballistic missile after Seoul demands apology for landmine blast
North Korea conducted a test of an intermediate-range strategic missile, which leader Kim Jong Un claimed utilizes AI technology to alter flight paths and evade tracking. South Korean and Japanese officials confirmed the launch, noting the missile landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.
Why it matters
The development of AI-guided, maneuverable missiles poses a significant challenge to regional missile defense systems and escalates tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong said on Saturday that an intermediate-range strategic missile had been tested earlier in the morning, hours after South Korea reported a ballistic missile launch towards the sea.“North Korea's Kim Yo Jong says an intermediate-range strategic missile was used for the drill,” state news agency KCNA reported.Kim Yo Jong, a director of North Korea’s ruling party, said an intermediate-range missile was used in a drill involving a “strategic weapon” towards the sea off the country’s east coast. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the drill, carried out by “a firepower sub-unit undertaking an exclusive special mission”, she said, according to Reuters.Citing South Korean and Japanese assessments of the missile’s flight distance, Jong said they showed limitations in tracking capabilities.
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