North Korea said it test-fired on Thursday a newly developed anti-aircraft missile, which proved "its remarkable combat performance." The North's Academy of Defense Science conducted the test "to confirm the practicality of operation of the launcher, radar and all-purpose battle command vehicle as well as the comprehensive combat performance of the missile," the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday, citing sources of the academy. "The overall test is of very practical significance in studying and developing various prospective anti-aircraft missile systems," and "the remarkable combat performance of the new-type anti-aircraft missile" has been verified, according to the KCNA report. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not oversee the launch, which was guided by Pak Jong-chon, member of the Presidium of the ruling Workers' Party, the report said. Thursday's missile test comes two days after Pyongyang test-launched a new hypersonic missile. North Korea said on Friday that it has test-fired a new type of anti-aircraft missile capable of downing air targets at longer distances with enhanced accuracy. The Academy verified the "remarkable" combat performance of the new missile that features rapid response and guided accuracy with a missile control system as it introduced new technologies that included "twin-rudder control technology" and a "double-impulse flight engine", Yonhap News Agency quoted KCNA as saying. The North has also been successful in substantially increasing the effective range of the missile, it added. The twin-rudder control technology appears to be aimed at increasing mobility by attaching variable wings to the warhead and at the middle of the missile. South Korea's Unification Ministry said it would continue efforts to restart inter-Korean talks while keeping a close watch on the North's next move. The latest missile launch also comes as the North has signaled a willingness to improve ties with the South in recent weeks on the condition that Seoul drops its "double standards" of denouncing the North's "defensive" weapons tests while justifying its own arms build-up. During his speech at the second-day session of the Supreme People's Assembly on Thursday, Kim said that cross-border communication lines with South Korea will be restored in early October as part of efforts to improve chilled relations. Kim also said the North has "neither aim nor reason" to provoke South Korea and urged Seoul to "get rid of the delusion" that it has to deter the Pyongyang's provocations. Inter-Korean relations have remained in a deadlock since the no-deal summit between the US and North Korea in early 2019. — Agencies
