North Korea unveils missile with cluster warhead and electronic warfare capabilities

North Korea this week tested a new cluster warhead on a ballistic missile, as well as an electromagnetic weapon, the state news agency KCNA reported, in a move interpreted as part of Pyongyang's efforts to demonstrate its ability to wage modern warfare.

The country's Academy of Defense Sciences and the Rocket Administration also conducted tests of carbon fiber bombs and a mobile short-range anti-aircraft missile system, KCNA said.

Kim Jong-sik, the general who oversaw the tests, said the electromagnetic weapon system and carbon fiber bombs were "special assets" for the North Korean military, KCNA reported.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Wednesday that Pyongyang had test-fired multiple missiles over the course of several days.

Analysts believe the tests are likely a show of force when it comes to advanced conventional weapons systems, aimed at both opponents and allies of nuclear-armed North Korea, Reuters reports.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is set to begin a two-day visit to North Korea today. There is also speculation that US President Donald Trump could try to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on the sidelines of his visit to China in mid-May.

Without specifying the number of ballistic missiles launched - a violation of United Nations sanctions - North Korea said it had tested its mobile short-range anti-aircraft missile system, as well as the combat capabilities of a tactical ballistic missile warhead.

One test showed that a tactical surface-to-surface ballistic missile called the Hwasongfo-11 Ka, equipped with a cluster warhead, could "reduce to ashes any target" in an area of ​​up to seven hectares, KCNA said.

Electronic warfare

The tests also came after North Korea reiterated that it considers South Korea an "enemy state," dashing recent hopes in Seoul that tensions on the Korean Peninsula could ease.

North Korea appears to be upgrading its weapons system with cutting-edge technology adapted to modern warfare, said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University in South Korea.

The electromagnetic weapons system could have the ability to disable electronic circuits in enemy assets, with the potential to paralyze South Korean F-35A stealth fighters or Aegis-equipped destroyers, Lim said.

Carbon fiber bombs, developed by advanced militaries such as the US and China, can disable infrastructure such as power plants by scattering conductive carbon fiber strands across a target. Lim said they could be a powerful weapon in any conflict, Reuters reports.

North Korea also said it conducted live firing using "cheap raw materials," indicating its goal of mass-producing weapons, said Yang Mu-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies.

Introducing such weapons would complicate South Korea's defense strategy against threats from North Korea, said Song Seong-jong, a professor at Daejeon University and former defense ministry official in Seoul.

Shin Jong-woo, secretary-general of the Korea Defense and Security Forum, said North Korea is drawing lessons from conflicts such as those in Ukraine and the Middle East.

For the first time, he added, Pyongyang is openly stating that it is developing weapons designed to attack South Korea's industrial infrastructure.

"North Korea appears to be developing these weapons with that model of asymmetric warfare very much in mind," Shin said, highlighting the importance of being capable of mass-producing weapons while simultaneously using electronic warfare to disrupt power grids and industrial infrastructure.