SEOUL, January 25. /TASS/. Pyongyang is seeking to improve the capacities of its existing cruise missiles, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, commenting on North Korea’s test of the new Pulhwasal-3-31 strategic cruise missile.

"The flight range of the cruise missile launched yesterday was shorter compared to the previous launches. That said, the launch is supposed to have been aimed at improving the performance of the existing cruise missiles," JCS Spokesman Lee Sung-joon said at a briefing.

He noted that the test had probably involved a modification of the existing Hwasal missile rather than a new product. The word "hwasal" means "an arrow" in Korean, while "pulhwasal" means "a fire arrow."

According to the JCS spokesman, South Korea detected the launch of the missile and tracked its flight in real-time but the missile disappeared in the final stages. Seoul is working to figure out the reasons behind its "disappearance."

North Korea tested the Hwasal-1 missile for the first time in September 2021. Tests of the Hwasal-1 and Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missiles, carrying pilot models of warheads simulating nuclear weapons, took place in March 2023. The missiles are also believed to be capable of carrying the Hwasan-31 tactical nuclear warhead.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported earlier that North Korea had performed the first test launch of Pulhwasal-3-31, a new type of strategic cruise missile that is still under development. Unlike ballistic missiles, cruise missile launches do not violate UN Security Council resolutions.