North Korea has test-fired a tactical ballistic missile equipped with a "new autonomous navigation system", state media said Saturday, with leader Kim Jong Un vowing to boost the country's nuclear force. In this photo provided by the North Korean government, the country's leader Kim Jong Un, second left, visits a defence industrial complex at an undisclosed place in North Korea on May 17, 2024. "The accuracy and reliability of the autonomous navigation system were verified through the test fire," Pyongyang's KCNA said Saturday, adding leader Kim expressed "great satisfaction" over the launch. North Korea's latest weapons tests were likely intended to attract the attention of Putin while he was in China, said Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies. Inter-Korean relations are at one of their lowest points in years, with Pyongyang declaring Seoul its "principal enemy".

Source: The North Africa Journal May 18, 2024 12:10 UTC