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KCNA said Kim was also briefed on efforts to develop a nuclear-propelled submarine and other advanced naval vessels. State media said the missiles were Pulhwasal-3-31, a new type of weapon first tested last week in land-based launches from North Korea’s western coast. The upgraded Tomahawk includes extended range, enhanced navigation and communication systems and modernised data-link radio. RGM / UGM-109E Tomahawk (Block IV TLAM-E) is the latest member in the Tomahawk missile family. Kim called the test a success, KCNA said, "which is of strategic significance in carrying out the plan...for modernizing the army which aims at building a powerful naval force." A submarine fired a Pulhwasal-3-31, the same type of strategic missile the country said it test-fired from land last week, KCNA reported.
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Its modular design enables the integration of numerous types of warheads, guidance and control systems. The Block Va variants will be named Maritime Strike and have the capability of hitting a moving target. State media photographs published on Monday showed a missile launching into a cloudy sky from the water trailed by a plume of smoke which obscures the type of platform it was being fired from. The secretive country's leader, Kim Jong Un, supervised the test along with other military officials, the official Korean Central News Agency said on Monday. The test was part of his plan to continue "accelerating the nuclear weaponization of our navy," KCNA reported.
North Korea Launches Cruise Missiles From Submarine
“Arming such vessels with nuclear cruise missiles would also reduce the number of conventional missiles each boat could carry, at a time when Pentagon leaders argue that strengthening conventional deterrence is their top priority in the Asia-Pacific,” says Reif. Putting nuclear cruise missile on Virginia-class would be a quick and easy way of ramping up strategic capability. Currently, the only nuclear-armed subs are the fourteen Ohio-class ballistic missile subs, so SLCM-N on Virginia-class would more than double that at a stroke. “They will focus on improving naval power in the East Sea and test weapons systems that can be mounted on submarines, with the first attempt being this strategic cruise missile,” said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies. The Pulhwasal-3-31 is a new generation of strategic cruise missiles that Pyongyang said it had only tested for the first time on Wednesday, firing multiple missiles toward the Yellow Sea.
Is North Korea’s Kim Jong Un planning war? Experts have conflicting views
RGM / UGM-109C (Block III TLAM-C) is a conventional unitary variant, carrying a 1,000lb-class warhead. RGM / UGM-109D (Block III TLAM-D) is a submunitions dispenser variant armed with 166 combined-effects bomblets. Kim said at the time the country would accelerate the programme to build nuclear-powered submarines. There was scepticism over the real-world utility of such a vessel, especially compared to the more advanced land-based missile systems, because its diesel propulsion generates noise and is limited in range, according to weapons experts. North Korea’s exact sea-based launch capabilities remain unclear, and previous tests have been carried out from older vessels, including from a submerged platform, rather than an actual submarine.
The US signed a foreign military sales (FMS) agreement with the UK in 1995 to supply 65 Tomahawks for use with the Royal Navy nuclear submarines. The Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System (TTWCS) integrated within the ship’s systems computes the path to engage targets. TTWCS is also used to communicate with multiple missiles for reassigning the targets and redirecting the missiles in flight. The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) can strike high-value or heavily defended land targets. The newly-developed Pulhwasal-3-31 missiles “flew in the sky above the East Sea … to hit the island target”, the KCNA news agency reported on Monday, adding that Kim “guided” the launch. The missile test, the first of its kind carried out by the North, took place as South Korea and the United States were about to begin joint military exercises.
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Unlike their ballistic counterparts, the testing of cruise missiles is not banned under current UN sanctions against Pyongyang. Pyongyang has accelerated weapons testing in the new year, including tests of what it called an “underwater nuclear weapon system” and a solid-fuelled hypersonic ballistic missile. The 4,000th Tomahawk Block IV missile was delivered to the US Navy in August 2017. The US Navy warships and submarines launched 66 GPS-enabled Tomahawk missiles at Syrian chemical weapon facilities in 2018.
North Korea fires multiple cruise missiles off east coast
On Sunday, North Korea launched two cruise missiles from a submarine in the waters near the country’s eastern port city of Sinpo. The submarine missile launches came right before the United States and South Korea kicked off their planned Freedom Shield (FS) exercises, which will last for 11 days until March 24. Earlier this month, North Korea vehemently criticized ongoing U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) joint military drills, which it claims as a rehearsal for invasion. North Korea last year launched what it called its first operational nuclear attack submarine, which analysts said appeared to be a modified from an existing submarine and likely designed to carry ballistic and cruise missiles. Conventionally armed BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles are the mainstay of the Navy’s arsenal for attacking land targets. With their long range and high precision, they are useful for taking on highly defended targets, and a salvo of cruise missiles will typically be fired to suppress defenses ahead of a strike by manned aircraft.
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In theory, such capacity would bolster its deterrent by ensuring a survivable capability to retaliate after absorbing a nuclear attack on land. Navy sought a precision land attack cruise missile capable of a much smaller CEP. Kim issued similar comments about a nuclear-armed navy in September while attending the launching ceremony of what the North described as a new submarine capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons from underwater. He said then that the country was pursuing a nuclear-propelled submarine and that it plans to remodel existing submarines and surface vessels so they can handle nuclear weapons. The report came a day after South Korea’s military said it detected North Korea firing multiple cruise missiles over waters near the eastern port of Sinpo, where the North has a major shipyard developing submarines. It was the latest in a streak of weapons demonstrations by North Korea amid increasing tensions with the United States, South Korea and Japan.
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The US Government approved an agreement in 2003 to deliver 65 Tomahawk Block IV missiles for the UK. In August 2004, the US Navy placed a $1.6bn multi-year procurement contract with Raytheon for 2,200 Tomahawk Block IV missiles. The Tomahawk Block IV missile is powered by a Williams International F415 cruise turbo-fan engine and ARC MK 135 rocket motor. The Block IV Tomahawk missile is outfitted with advanced electronic support measure (ESM) seeker in Block IV Tomahawk missile.
The Tomahawk Block IV uses GPS navigation and a satellite data-link to continue through a pre-set course. South Korea's military said on Monday it believed the submarine "has no military use" and the vessel appeared to be under repair or maintenance. Kim separately inspected the construction of a nuclear submarine and discussed issues related to the manufacturing of other types of new warships, KCNA said but gave no details. Kim "set forth the important tasks arising in realizing the nuclear weaponization of the navy and expanding the sphere of operation of the state nuclear deterrence in a diversified way," KCNA said.
NCM has also been designed to be launched from the 21 inch torpedo tubes of a submerged submarine. While not specified, the nuclear cruise missile would be a relatively low-yield weapon compared to the submarine-launched Trident ballistic missiles. A $25.9m contract for Tomahawk missile composite capsule launching systems (C/CLS) was awarded in December 2014.
The C/CLS is integrated with the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines and nuclear-powered guided-missile submarines, allowing the missile to be launched from submarines. “In the future, it will lead to the development of submarine-launched ballistic missiles and nuclear-powered submarines, which will have a much higher impact than SLCMs,” he added. The launch, North Korea’s sixth missile test this year, marked the first time the North had tested cruise missiles from a submarine. The country last launched a short-range ballistic missile from a submarine on May 7 off its east coast.
Photos published on Monday by state media appeared to show Kim watching the tests from a vantage point above a body of water. In one photo released by KCNA, Kim appeared to be pointing at a missile in mid-flight. KCNA said the submarine marked the beginning of a new chapter for North Korea’s navy. Kim expressed “great satisfaction” over Sunday’s test, according to KCNA, noting North Korea’s determination to build a “powerful naval force”. Second test of weapon in days as North Korea accelerates efforts to modernise its navy.
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