North Korea Reportedly Test-Fires New Long-Range Cruise Missile

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency is reporting that North Korea’s state-owned media KCNA said that North Korea said it has successfully test-fired a “new type long-range” cruise missile on September 11 and 12.

“The efficiency and practicality of the weapon system operation was confirmed to be excellent,” state news agency KCNA said in a statement

This is the second such test-fire during Biden’s term.

In March, Kim Jong Un test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles, prompting U.S. Indo-Pacific Command spokesperson Capt. Mike Kafka to warn at the time:

“This activity highlights the threat that North Korea’s illicit weapons program poses to its neighbors and the international community.”

But one still wonders at the timing of such a provocation.

Kim would not fire anything without Beijing’s blessing, so is this Xi piling on more pressure on Biden as Washington faces turmoil in almost every foreign policy endeavor.

Also interesting, given the timing, Australia’s Defense Minister Peter Dutton and Foreign Minister Marise Payne are in Seoul to meet with their South Korean counterparts, as the two countries mark the 60th anniversary of official relations.