[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] North Korea claimed that the location where it launched two cruise missiles on the 17th was Anju City, not Oncheon, Pyongannam-do, as announced by the South Korean side. In response, our military stated, "The assessment of the South Korea-U.S. intelligence authorities remains unchanged."
On the same day, Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the Workers' Party of North Korea, pointed out the South's poor missile detection and tracking capabilities, stating, "Regrettably, the site of our weapons test launch conducted the day before was not the Oncheon area hastily and clumsily announced by the South Korean authorities, but rather the ‘Geumseong Bridge’ in Anju City, Pyongannam-do," according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency. This remark came during criticism of President Yoon Suk-yeol's North Korea policy, the ‘Bold Initiative.’
The military had announced that on the 17th, North Korea launched two cruise missiles from Oncheon, Pyongannam-do, toward the West Sea. The military plans to maintain the assessment that the missiles were launched from Oncheon, based on scientific intelligence surveillance capabilities and analysis of the detected data by South Korea and the U.S. However, it is reported that the military will not disclose additional analysis to refute North Korea's claim due to concerns about exposing intelligence assets.
Anju City, the location announced by the military, is north of Pyongyang, while Oncheon is southwest, and the two locations are more than 90 km apart in a straight line. The military did not disclose specific specifications of the cruise missiles at the time. Given the nature of cruise missiles, which can arbitrarily adjust maximum speed and other parameters, the military holds that specifications such as speed, altitude, and flight distance differ from ballistic missiles, for which these parameters have intrinsic significance.
However, it is also reported that cruise missiles can continue flying for several hours, making continuous tracking difficult.
During North Korea's cruise missile launch on January 25, the military only stated, "It is estimated that the missile flew a considerable distance inland," and three days later, North Korea claimed in a public report that the missile flew for 9,137 seconds and hit a target island at the 1,800 km mark.
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