SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw drills that simulate a nuclear counterattack against the U.S.A. and South Korea as a warning to allies who are increasing their joint military exercise, state media KCNA reported on Monday.
Although the North conducted short-range missile launches, it was unusual for the missile to fly from a buried silo. Analysts believe this would improve stability and speed in future intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests.
KCNA stated that the exercises of Saturday and Sunday were intended to strengthen the country’s “war defense and nuclear counterattack capabilities,” and accused Washington and Seoul for making an “explicit effort to launch a war against them.”
The drill was also designed to show our stronger will to respond to actual war and to send a stronger warning message to the enemy who increase their war drills for aggressiveness,” KCNA stated.
The exercises saw a ballistic missile with a fake nuclear warhead fly 497 miles before it hit a target in the scenario of a nuclear attack, KCNA stated.
KCNA photos show Kim at the test again with his young child as flames erupted from the soaring missile just before it hit its target.
Analysts believed that the launch was a KN-23 short-range missile (SRBM) but, unlike previous tests, the exhaust from the engine seemed to have been vented both sides at the moment of liftoff. This could indicate that a silo was being used.
“North Korea has used mobile launchers for everything, from SRBMs and large ICBMs up to now,” Yang Uk, a fellow with the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, Seoul, said. “The latest launch could possibly serve as a test bed for future launches larger missiles such as the Hwasong-17 ICBM inside a silo.”
South Korea’s defense ministry spokesperson said that the North has made significant technological advancements in its nuclear program, but did not go into detail.
Kim stated that the exercises had improved the military’s war capabilities and urged the military not to be afraid of an “immediate, overwhelming nuclear counterattack” at any time.
“The current situation, in which enemies are becoming ever more pronounced with their moves for aggression towards the DPRK,” KCNA quoted him saying.
Kim used the acronym of his country’s name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
He said, “The nuclear force in the DPRK will deter, control, and manage the enemy’s reckless moves, provocations, and with its high war readyness, it will carry out its important mission, without hesitation, in case of any undesirable situation.”
South Korea and Japan reported that a North Korean short range ballistic missile was launched off the east coast of the country on Sunday. This is the latest in a series missile tests over the past week.
North Korea reacted violently to the South Korea-U.S. joint military drills and called them a rehearsal for an invasion.
Allies have been conducting exercises throughout the month, including air- and sea drills that involved U.S. B-1B Bombers on Sunday.
On Monday, the U.S. and South Korean navies and marine corp will launch their first large-scale amphibious landing exercises in five decades at Ssangyong. The exercise will last for two weeks until April 3.
The two countries held tabletop exercises last month to simulate North Korea’s nuclear attack. This was in response to South Korean President Yoon Seuk Yeol‘s call for greater confidence in U.S. Extended Deterrence, which is its military capability and nuclear forces to deter attacks against its allies.
Another dispatch from KCNA stated that more than 1.4 Million North Koreans had volunteered to enlist or re-enlist in military to fight against Seoul, Washington. This is an increase of the 800,000. reported by a state newspaper two days earlier.
