Anchor: Following its launch of multiple cruise missiles on Wednesday, North Korea has claimed that it fired a new and improved weapon. South Korea, for its part, contends that the North fired a rebranded missile upgraded from earlier models.
Tom McCarthy has more from both countries.

Report: A day after firing a number of cruise missiles, North Korea announced on Thursday that it tested a new strategic cruise missile.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that the General Missile Bureau carried out the first test launch of the “Pulhwasal-3-31,” currently under development, the morning before at around 7 a.m.

The news agency said that the test-firing, which were tracked in a circular trajectory, did not pose a threat to any neighboring countries and was of no regional security concern.

The report also said that the test-firing was a stage of the developmental process seeking to constantly update the regime’s weapons systems, falling under regular and obligatory operations of the missile bureau and affiliated defense institutes.

The South Korean military announced on the same day that Pyongyang appears to have improved the performance of its existing launch vehicle before Wednesday’s test of a rebranded missile.

In a press briefing, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the missile seems to be an improved version of the previous “Hwasal-1” and “Hwasal-2” long-range strategic cruise missiles.

The JCS said that Wednesday’s missiles had a comparatively shorter range than the previous variant, leading to the conclusion that the test concerned the improvement of existing systems.

Seoul tracked the missiles in real time until they disappeared and experts both at home and in the U.S. are analyzing details of the launches while considering the possibility that the North was conducting a mock test of a strategic nuclear warhead detonation in mid-flight.
Tom McCarthy, KBS WORLD Radio News.