North Korea says its recent missile launches are “tactical nuclear” exercises directly overseen by leader Kim Jong Un and are a response to joint naval exercises between North Korea and North Korea. United States and Korea.
North Korea has done seventh debut in two weeks when it fired two ballistic missiles early Sunday morning.
State broadcaster KCNA reported that Kim Jong Un led the drills, which involved ballistic missiles with dummy nuclear warheads and were led by “tactical nuclear operations units”.
The KCNA added that the various tests simulated targeting military command facilities, hitting key ports and airfields in the South.
“The effectiveness and practical combat capabilities of our nuclear warfare force have been fully demonstrated when it is fully prepared to strike and destroy targets at any time,” the report said. anytime from any location”.
“Although the other side continues to talk about dialogue and negotiation, we don’t have anything to say and we don’t feel the need to do so,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
Kim has long wanted to develop a tactical nuclear weapon and turn it into a priority at the important party congress in January 2021.
Nation amend its nuclear law Last month, a range of scenarios in which the country could use such weapons were projected, with Kim declaring North Korea an “irreversible” nuclear power.
Since then, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington have conducted combined naval exercises, including deploying the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan to the area twice, angering Pyongyang. , which saw such exercises as rehearsals for invasion.
In response, North Korea “decided to hold military exercises simulating a real war … to test and evaluate the country’s nuclear counter-war and counter-attack capability”, KCNA said. news.
New missile
North Korea has released photos of recent missile launches, tests and drills, showing Kim Jong Un wearing a white coat and straw hat, and sometimes a khaki jacket, watching the rocket take off. wings from various locations. He is also shown when he meets the soldiers smiling and standing next to his wife, hands covering his ears.
The missiles pictured include short-range ballistic missiles including the KN-25 and KN-23 types as well as a 2.5-ton payload, as well as the KN-09 300mm Multi-Purpose Launch Missile System .
The images appear to also show the development of a new type of intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), analysts say.
Two weeks of debut finally saw North Korea sends IRBM through Japan and out to the Pacific for the first time in nearly five years, and the furthest rocket launch ever.
South Korea said Pyongyang could conduct its first nuclear test since 2017 as soon as this month.
North Korea also said it carried out “a large-scale combined air strike exercise”, also overseen by Mr Kim, in which it said “for the first time in history, more than 150 warplanes of different missions took off at the same time.”
Seoul Army says it has scramble for 30 fighters on Thursday after 12 North Korean warplanes made a “rare formation flight north of the inter-Korean air force demarcation [and] conducted ground-to-air shooting exercises”.
Rand Corporation analyst Soo Kim told AFP news agency: “Kim probably wants to tell the US and South Korea that any demonstrations of alliance solidarity and readiness will be in vain.
“We probably won’t see North Korea back down any time soon, and by all accounts it doesn’t look like the allies will back down so easily this time either.”
The United States and South Korea held joint maritime exercises involving the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan on Friday, after the carrier was redeployed following an IRBM test in Japan.
Technically, the two Koreas are still at war because the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
