Pyongyang announced that it launched two short-range ballistic missiles as part of a “tactical nuclear strike exercise” in response to US-South Korean military exercises, the North’s Korean Central News Agency reported Thursday.
The launch of the two missiles, which the South Korean army had monitored, came in the midst of a large-scale annual military exercise known as the “Ulchi Freedom Shield” that always angers North Korea. This year’s maneuvers will run until August 31.
North Korea’s military said it fired the two missiles Wednesday night as part of a “tactical nuclear strike exercise simulating scorched earth strikes at key command centers and operational airfields” across the border in South Korea.
The South Korean army had reported that the two missiles were fired towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, just before midnight Wednesday-Thursday.
“The exercise aims to send a clear message to the enemies,” the North Korean news agency quoted the country’s army as saying.
“The training aims to make all the commanding officers and staff sections of the entire army fully prepared for war,” the agency added.
Meanwhile, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a text message sent to reporters, indicated that “our monitoring and vigilance against further provocations is being strengthened, and our army remains fully prepared in close cooperation with the United States.”
At least one US B-1B strategic bomber took part in the joint air maneuvers, and earlier Wednesday it flew over the Korean Peninsula, angering Pyongyang.
North Korea described the bomber’s flight over the peninsula as a “serious threat” and “an extension of the scenario of a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” North Korea’s official name.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on the developments during his press conference in Washington.
The United States, South Korea and Japan have strengthened their cooperation in the field of defense in recent months, and on Tuesday they held joint missile defense naval exercises to counter the growing nuclear and missile threats to Pyongyang.
Pyongyang announced last week the failure of its second attempt within three months to launch a satellite for espionage purposes, promising a new attempt next October, in a move that drew widespread international condemnation.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un confirmed in 2022 that his country’s status as a nuclear power is “irreversible,” calling for strengthening its arsenal, especially with tactical nuclear weapons.
Kim pledged to strengthen the country’s naval power, warning of “the danger of nuclear war” in the waters of the peninsula, according to what was reported by North Korean official media.
Kim warned, according to the North Korean agency, that “because of the reckless and offensive steps of the United States and other hostile forces, the waters off the Korean Peninsula have turned into the largest concentration of war equipment in the world, and have become the most turbulent with the danger of nuclear war.”
He stressed that “achieving successes through the rapid development of naval power has become a very urgent matter in light of the recent aggressive attempts of the enemies.”
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2023-08-31 01:12:08