North Korea Tests Cluster-Bomb Warhead — SkimNews
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- North Korea test-fired a cluster-bomb warhead on October 31, 2026, to assess its adaptation to combat and power when fitted to tactical ballistic missiles, KCNA reported.
- Missile Administration said the warhead is capable of turning a target area of 12–13 hectares to ashes at its highest-density power, and that units will be able within this year to select and use all those types according to operational aims and target features.
- KCNA released images showing a projectile firing from a mobile launcher with an orange exhaust plume and multiple cluster-bomb impacts on an island target.
- North Korea test-fired the cluster-bomb warhead after trials of attack drones, a new precision-guided torpedo system and an intermediate-range hypersonic missile.
- Kim Jong Un was absent from Saturday’s test, after overseeing an April test-launch of cluster-bomb warheads mounted on a ballistic missile with his daughter, Ju Ae.
- North Korea denied responsibility for a landmine explosion along the fortified inter-Korean border that wounded three South Korean soldiers, and vowed to further fortify border areas and resume its loudspeaker campaign.
Why it matters: North Korea’s Missile Administration said one cluster-bomb warhead is capable of turning 12–13 hectares to ashes and that units will be able within this year to use the tested types. For South Korea, that combines a stated effect size with a unit-use deadline; the landmine blast injuring three South Korean soldiers also keeps the drill tied to live border tensions.
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