SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test of new surface-to-sea missiles and warned that the country would take a more aggressive military posture in disputed seas, the North’s state media said Thursday.
The report by the Korean Central News Agency came a day after South Korea’s military detected the North firing multiple cruise missiles into waters off its eastern port of Wonsan. The launches were the sixth such event this year and added to a provocative run in weapons demonstrations since 2022.
Some experts say Kim may seek to further dial up pressure in an election year in South Korea and the United States. There are growing concerns in South Korea about a direct military provocation, and a possible area of conflict could be the Koreas’ poorly drawn western sea boundary, where several bloody skirmishes have occurred in past years.
Kim supervised the test launches of the new weapon, named Padasuri-6, and said the North would strengthen its deployment of surface-to-sea missiles to fend off any “adventurous” attempts by the South Korean navy. He accused South Korea of frequently violating what he decried as North Korean territorial waters with its maritime patrols and interdiction of third-party ships. He ordered his navy to strengthen its defense posture in waters near the South Korean border islands of Baekryeong and Yeonpyeong, where a North Korean artillery bombardment killed four…
