Asia: North Korea fires four cruise missiles

North Korea has carried out four test cruise missile launches into the sea, North Korea’s official KCNA news agency said on Friday, adding that the exercise demonstrated the “war posture” of Pyongyang’s nuclear force.

The four “Hwasal-2” missiles were fired from the vicinity of Kimchaek City in North Hamgyong Province towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of ​​Japan. They followed a trajectory of 2000 km before reaching their targets “with precision”, according to the official agency, which did not specify which were the targets.

“The Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea has expressed its great satisfaction with the results of the launch exercise,” added the North Korean media. “The exercise clearly demonstrated once again the war posture of the nuclear combat force of the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea, editor’s note), strengthening its counterattack capabilities in the face of hostile forces,” the agency added.

The launches come after two short-range ballistic missiles were fired on Monday and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) 48 hours earlier, which Pyongyang said demonstrates its “deadly nuclear counterattack” capabilities.

According to Japan, the ICBM launched on Saturday flew 66 minutes before diving into its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). It was Pyongyang’s first missile launch in seven weeks. The missile tests on Thursday were in response to joint military exercises between South Korea, Japan and the United States in the Sea of ​​Japan on Wednesday.

In a statement released on Monday, the North Korean leader’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, warned that Pyongyang would continue to monitor moves by Washington and Seoul to deploy more US strategic assets in the region, promising “countermeasures”. corresponding” to each perceived threat.

“The frequency of use of the Pacific as a firing range depends on the type of action of the American forces,” she stressed in a press release published by KCNA. Saturday’s shooting was “strongly” condemned by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, his spokesman said on Sunday, urging Pyongyang to stop its “provocative actions”.

North Korea praised its soldiers for carrying out the “sudden fire drill” on Saturday, but South Korean experts pointed out that the nine-hour delay between the order and the launch was not particularly fast. Kim Yo-jong dismissed these criticisms, describing them as “an attempt to underestimate the readiness of the ballistic forces” of Pyongyang.

Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul are at their lowest for several years. In 2022, the North called its status as a nuclear power “irreversible” and Kim Jong-un called for “exponential” growth in the production of armaments, including tactical nuclear weapons. North Korea conducted several test missile launches in 2022.