This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it claims to be a sea-to-surface cruise missile test at an undisclosed location in North Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. The Korean language watermark on the image provided by the source reads: “KCNA”, which is the abbreviation of Korean Central News Agency.
KCNA via KNS/AP
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KCNA via KNS/AP
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea said Wednesday that its recent sea-to-surface cruise missile test launches were successful, in another sign of its growing military capabilities as U.S. President Donald Trump visits South Korea.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said the missiles fired on Tuesday flew for more than two hours before accurately hitting targets in its western waters. He said the weapons would help expand the operational sphere of the country’s nuclear-armed military.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military had detected North Korea’s launch preparations and that the cruise missiles were fired into the North’s northwest waters around 3 p.m. on Tuesday. The joint chiefs said South Korea and the United States were analyzing weapons and maintaining a combined defense readiness capable of a “dominant response” against any North Korean provocation.
The North Korean report came hours before an expected summit between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the city of Gyeongju, where South Korea is hosting this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Japan to South Korea, Trump downplayed the North Korean launches.
“You’ve been launching missiles for decades, right?” he said, apparently referring to Kim Jong Un. Trump reiterated that he still wants to meet with Kim, whom he met three times in 2018 and 2019 before their diplomacy was derailed by disagreements over U.S.-led sanctions against the North.
“We understood each other very well,” Trump said.
KCNA said the tests were attended by top military official Pak Jong Chon, who also inspected the training of sailors aboard North Korea’s newly developed Choe Hyon and Kang Kon destroyers, which leader Kim Jong Un has described as key assets in his efforts to strengthen the navy.
North Korea’s latest launches followed short-range ballistic missile tests last week that it said involved a new hypersonic system designed to strengthen its nuclear war deterrent.
During his visit to South Korea, Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. However, South Korean officials have said a meeting between Trump and Kim is unlikely.
North Korea has avoided any form of talks with Washington and Seoul since Kim’s high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019 during the US president’s first term.
Kim’s top foreign policy priority is now Russia. In recent months, he has sent thousands of troops and large amounts of military equipment to help fuel President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, while embracing the idea of a “new Cold War” and positioning his country as part of a united front against the West led by the United States.
Last month, Kim reiterated that he would not return to talks with the United States unless Washington dropped its demand for North Korea’s denuclearization, after Trump repeatedly expressed hopes for new diplomacy.