North Korea’s latest missile test suggests arms race with the South

North Korea said on Tuesday it had tested a new ballistic missile with a “super-large warhead,” the latest development in an arms race with South Korea that has seen the countries compete to introduce weapons of increasingly destructive power.

Two of the new missiles, known as the Hwasong-11Da-4.5, were launched Monday, each carrying a dummy warhead weighing 4.5 tons, North Korea’s official news agency said. Ballistic missiles often carry warheads weighing less than a ton.

South Korea already has similar missiles capable of delivering large nuclear warheads. Col. Lee Sung-jun, a spokesman for the South’s military, said the North’s Hwasong-11 series of missiles are expected to carry payloads ranging from half a ton to 2.5 tons, but that it is “theoretically possible” to modify them to deliver a 4.5-ton payload.

But Colonel Lee accused North Korea of ​​deceptively exaggerating its capabilities in Tuesday’s report. One of two missiles North Korea launched on Monday crashed in an empty field after an “abnormal” flight, he said.

The United States accuses North Korea of delivery of Hwasong-11 missiles sent to Russia for use against Ukraine. Both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied trading weapons, which would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions imposed on North Korea over its nuclear weapons program.

Monday’s launch was the second major weapons test North Korea has reported since its leader Kim Jong Un hosted Russian President Vladimir V. Putin for talks in Pyongyang on June 19. Last week, North Korea claimed for the first time that it had tested technology for launching multiple nuclear warheads from a single missile; the South also cast doubt on that report.

South Korea, citing the growing nuclear threat from North Korea, has ramped up its own military spending in recent years. That includes developing ballistic missiles with large nuclear warheads, designed to hit underground bunkers where North Korea keeps its nuclear arsenal and where its political and military leaders can hide in the event of war. The South has also purchased U.S. stealth jets.

In 2020, the South said it had developed a ballistic missile with ​“one of the largest nuclear warheads in the world.” In 2021, Kim pledged to develop a “super-large warhead,” and later that year, North Korea said it had launched a new ballistic missile capable of carrying a 2.5-ton warhead.

South Korean defense officials later said they were developing a ballistic missile with an even larger warhead. South Korean news outlets said it carried a payload of up to eight tons.

Putin’s visit to Pyongyang last month raised fears in the region that Russia would help North Korea develop missiles in exchange for large shipments of artillery shells, ballistic missiles and other conventional munitions for Russia’s war of attrition in Ukraine. Kim and Putin also signed a treaty that included a promise of mutual defense if either country were attacked.

North Korea said this week’s missile test was a success “of great significance.” The results were reported to a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party that ended Monday, the state media report said. It said the Hwasong-11Da-4.5 would be tested again later this month.

Mr. Kim has used Workers’ Party meetings to formulate policy goals and tighten his grip on power. For the first time, state media photos from the latest meeting showed delegates wearing pins with Mr. Kim’s image, as they have worn for years to honor Mr. Kim’s predecessors as supreme leader, his father and grandfather.