North Korea’s Kim led exercises to ‘simulate a nuclear counterattack’: KCNA

Pyongyang’s latest show of force comes as it snaps at US and South Korean military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw two days of exercises “simulating a nuclear counterattack,” including the launch of a ballistic missile carrying a simulated nuclear warhead, according to state news agency KCNA, while South Korea and the United States they continue with their own army. exercises.

Kim expressed his “satisfaction” with the launches over the weekend, which were carried out to “allow relevant units to familiarize themselves with the procedures and processes for implementing their tactical nuclear strike missions,” KCNA reported Monday.

The agency shared photos of Kim in the test, again with her young daughter, as flames erupted from the missile before reaching the target. In the exercises, a ballistic missile equipped with a dummy nuclear warhead it flew 800 km (497 miles) before hitting a target at an altitude of 800 m (2,625 ft), it said.

“The DPRK nuclear force will vigorously deter, control and manage the enemy’s reckless moves and provocations with its high war-readiness, and carry out its important mission without hesitation in case of any unwanted situation,” Kim said, according to was cited, using the acronym of the official name of his country, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The exercises were Pyongyang’s fourth show of force in a week and came as South Korea and the United States stage their own military drills, known as the Freedom Shield, which North Korea sees as a rehearsal for an invasion and a hostile act.

The two allied countries conducted air and sea exercises with US B-1B strategic bombers on Sunday, and their navies and marines are ready to begin full-scale Ssangyong amphibious landing exercises on Monday. The drills, the largest in five years, will continue for two weeks until April 3.

Last month, the US and South Korea conducted simulation exercises to simulate North Korea’s nuclear attack amid a push by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for greater confidence in extended US deterrence. US: its military capacity, especially nuclear forces, to deter attacks against its allies.

South Korea and Japan have also moved to boost security cooperation amid North Korean weapons tests, setting aside decades of historical grievances.

North Korea is barred from testing ballistic missiles under successive UN sanctions over its nuclear weapons program.

Last week, Pyongyang fired its largest and most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the hwasong-17his second such test this year.

The UN Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting on Monday on the launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile at the request of the United States and Japan, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.