The self-proclaimed nuclear power North Korea has said it has fired military guided missiles into the sea to deter its enemies. During a visit to a naval squadron in the Sea of Japan (Korean: East Sea), ruler Kim Jong Un supervised the test of “strategic cruise missiles”, the state media reported.
The launches from a patrol ship were therefore successful. The general staff in South Korea described the information from the isolated neighboring country as “exaggerated and deviating from the facts”. Details were not given.
Civil defense exercise in South Korea
North Korea released the reports of Kim’s inspection ahead of the start of new drills by South Korean and US forces. The two countries began their joint eleven-day summer maneuver “Ulchi Freedom Shield” (UFS) on Monday as planned, as South Korean broadcasters reported. The exercises are primarily aimed at countering threats from North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programs.
At the same time, a nationwide civil defense exercise began in South Korea, in which, according to the government, 580,000 employees from around 4,000 authorities and public institutions are taking part. The four-day exercise is intended to improve preparedness in the event of a disaster, including war.
Pyongyang regularly accuses the United States and South Korea of preparing for an attack with their exercises – which Seoul and Washington deny. North Korea sees both countries as enemies.
Exercise should simulate attack mission
When exactly the latest weapons test took place was not mentioned in the North Korean media. The exercise was reportedly intended to validate the ship’s combat capability and enable the marines to carry out “an offensive mission in a current war.” An important task of the own navy is to “frustrate the enemy’s intention to go to war”.
North Korea is banned by UN resolutions from testing ballistic missiles, which – depending on the design – can also carry nuclear warheads. Tests of cruise missiles are not subject to sanctions against Pyongyang. However, such weapons can also be used to deploy nuclear warheads. After an unprecedented series of missile tests last year, North Korea has again tested multiple missiles and guided missiles this year.
At a three-way summit meeting on Friday at Camp David in the United States, the United States, Japan and South Korea agreed, among other things, to significantly strengthen cooperation in the defense sector. After meeting US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a cabinet meeting in Seoul on Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his hope that the trilateral cooperation would reduce “the risk of North Korean provocations”.
