Reports surfaced on August 24 suggesting that the surface-to-air missile recently tested by North Korea could be a clone of the Russian Tor missile system, which was previously displayed in military parades.
The Korean Central News Agency reported on August 24 that North Korea’s missile command conducted tests on two upgraded variants of surface-to-air missiles the previous day, with Workers’ Party General Secretary Kim Jong Un observing the tests.
Although the agency released images depicting the missile intercepting aerial targets, including cruise missiles, it withheld specific technical details.
Rep. Yoo Yong-won, a former military journalist, noted that this marks the first time North Korea has demonstrated its capability to intercept cruise missiles using surface-to-air systems. Further noting that the missile appears to be a North Korean version of the Russian surface-to-air system that was previously exhibited in their parades.
Yoo added that the missile seems to employ a cold-launch technique, akin to Russia’s Tor and S-300 systems. He noted that it is possible that North Korea has refined Russian technology, which it may have received support from in exchange for deploying troops to Ukraine. Further stating that this successful interception of cruise missiles marks a significant improvement over their previously high failure rates.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed that they had detected and monitored North Korea’s surface-to-air missile testing activities in advance.
A JCS spokesperson stated it had tracked North Korea’s training and weapons development activities near Nampo on the morning of August 23. Further, the U.S. and South Korean intelligence agencies are currently analyzing the specifics of the test.