North Korea’s fall 2022 missile testing campaign saw the return of the country’s newly developed “long-range strategic cruise missiles,” as state media reported that leader Kim Jong Un oversaw nighttime tests on Oct. 12.

The latest launches appear to coincide with the deployment of these weapons, according to state media, fulfilling an important priority first outlined at the Eighth Party Congress in Jan. 2021. North Korea has indicated that these missiles are capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

The fact that the DPRK carried out the tests at night demonstrates it can employ these cruise missiles at