North Korea tested cruise missile dispersal warhead on November 2, KCNA said

North Korea tested a dispersal warhead for a strategic cruise missile, state media reported on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, according to Yonhap. The test was overseen on Monday by Gen. Kim Jong-sik, a member of the Workers' Party of Korea's Central Military Commission and first vice department director of the Central Committee, the Korean Central News Agency said.

The Warhead Institute of the Missile Administration said it confirmed that the mid-sized dispersal warhead fitted to the cruise missile could turn a target area of 5 to 6 hectares into ashes at its highest-density power, according to the KCNA report. The Cruise Missile System Institute said it had perfected the missile's vertical strike capability by improving terminal maneuverability, adjusted for the targeted area's natural and geographical characteristics.

The administration's director said the need to develop a variety of weapon systems was more urgent than ever, because the armed forces should defend the country's security and deter threats, and said the tests demonstrated practical combat power, Yonhap reported. North Korea tested a cluster bomb mountable on tactical ballistic missiles on Saturday and said it would field various types of cluster warheads by the end of the year.

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