A photo provided by the North Korean regime shows what it calls a test of a long-range strategic cruise missile in the Yellow Sea off North Korea, on Dec. 28, 2025. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP
North Korea said on Dec. 29 that it had fired long-range strategic cruise missiles into the sea to test its nuclear deterrence capabilities, just days after state media reported the regime’s progress in constructing its first nuclear-powered submarine.
The Dec. 28 missile launches off North Korea’s west coast came ahead of the communist country’s ruling Workers’ Party congress early next year, the first such meeting in five years.
