North Korea Reveals Testing of New Tactical Weapon

North Korean state media revealed that on Wednesday, leader Kim Jong Un oversaw testing of a new weapon of some sort that is planned to be added into the North Korean arsenal. The report was extremely vague on what this weapon was.

The report referred to the weapon as a “tactical” weapon, saying it has a “peculiar mode of guiding flight” and a “powerful warhead.” They did not further elaborate beyond saying it would increase the army’s combat power.

This implies a short-range missile of some sort with a novel guidance system, at least novel from the North Korean point of view. The talk of a powerful warhead may suggest an advancement in explosives, or the use of some sort of fuel air bomb that causes particularly high amounts of damage.

It is exceedingly unlikely, though not specifically ruled out by what is known so far, that this is nuclear-related. North Korea’s ability to produce deliverable nuclear warheads is very new, and it is virtually certain they lack the miniaturization technology needed to produce tactical-level nuclear arms. North Korea also has never tested any such sort of warhead.