A photo provided by the North Korean regime shows what it calls a test of a long-range strategic cruise missile in the Yellow Sea off North Korea, on Dec. 28, 2025. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via APNorth Korea said on Dec. 29 it had fired long-range strategic cruise missiles into the sea to test its nuclear deterrence capabilities, just days after state media reported the regime’s progress in constructing its first nuclear-powered submarine.Sunday’s missile launches off North Korea’s west coast came ahead of the communist country’s ruling Workers’ Party congress early next year, the first such meeting in five years.
