North Korea has been working to standardize and expand its nuclear capabilities since early 2019.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to have reiterated since a failed meeting with President Trump in Vietnam in February 2019 that he would invest more in North Korea's nuclear program and build the country's national defense. The strategy will be based on 'self-reliance'.
But why is North Korea insisting on doing so despite food shortages and a worsening economic crisis? Because it serves a variety of interests.
Internally, these experiments have strengthened Kim Jong Un's statement of self-reliance in national defense and encouraged the people.
However, from a practical standpoint, acquiring new capabilities such as cruise missiles undermines North Korea's enemies' plans, and they now have to strategize accordingly.
Unlike ballistic missiles, cruise missiles are slower and slower to reach their targets.
The cruise missiles tested by North Korea have a range of 1,500 km and have a flight duration of just over two hours.
The same range of ballistic missiles can cover this distance in a matter of minutes, but North Korea's interest in cruise missiles could also be due to its rivals being able to track their launches and defend against them. There are difficulties.
These experiments also show that Kim Jong Un, while publicly acknowledging the country's difficulties, insists on innovating the country's nuclear capabilities.
Unless we see a clear signal of a shift in priorities from North Korea or a successful diplomatic effort by the United States, it would not be wrong to expect Pyongyang to further enhance its capabilities.
However, is it important that North Korea test this weapon on this occasion?
Although discussed by analysts, the test of these weapons has nothing to do with the Biden administration's policy or the 20 years since the 9/11 attacks.
