"North Korea Says It Conducted 'Nuclear Counterattack' Cruise Missile Test" by Colin Zwirko for NK News

ONN Analyst Tianran Xu was interviewed by Colin Zwirko for his NK News atricle on the DPRK's cruise missile test. Xu discussed the advancement of the DPRK's CM programme and the remaining unknown aspects of the missiles.

"Xu Tianran, an analyst with Open Nuclear Network, told NK News that it 'would be interesting to see if they really fired four missiles.' 'This would suggest a quite advanced development phase,' he said. Xu assessed that 'in wartime, the ROK is fully capable of intercepting' this type of missile and that it would be easier to intercept cruise missiles than faster-flying ballistic missiles 'given ROK's wartime radar coverage and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System).' However, he said there are still unknowns about North Korea's new cruise missiles, such as whether it can effectively fly close to the ground through mountainous terrain and 'how clever' they can be at avoiding buildings and air defense zones. Pyongyang has yet to publish video footage or more in-depth demonstrations of the missiles beyond still photos of launches. North Korea has shown off 'long-range cruise missiles' with both white and black liveries over the last two years. Xu said there appears to be 'small differences' between the two but that 'it is more likely that they are based on one common design, maybe an evolution.' He added that the transporter erector launcher (TEL) vehicles for both systems appeared the same."