North Korea test fires strategic Cruise Missile – Report

North Korea says it has conducted successful launches of what it calls a “strategic” cruise missile, which analysts believe could carry a nuclear warhead. This was the announcement on North Korean television, released with two photographs. According to the American think tank, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, this is the first time North Korea has called a cruise missile a “strategic,” weapon, which is a common euphemism for nuclear weapons.

Cruise missiles, unlike ballistic missiles, aren’t explicitly banned under United Nations resolutions. Analysts say some cruise missiles are designed to fly under or around radar warning systems.

It also comes as the U.S., South Korea, and Japan were meeting in Tokyo over how to break their standoff with North Korea and resume negotiations. South Korea’s foreign minister Chung Eui-Yong, meeting with their Australian counterpart on Monday, says the development underscores the urgency of resuming talks with the North.

The U.S. says it also wants to resume talks, but has not given willingness to ease sanctions.