SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea claimed Friday that its cruise missile launches this week were part of nuclear strike drills that reportedly included a detonation by a rumored underwater drone, as leader Kim Jong Un threatened to drive his adversaries "into despair."
North Korea has increased its weapons demonstrations in retaliation for US-South Korean military exercises aimed at combating the North's increasing nuclear threat. On Thursday, the partners concluded an 11-day exercise that featured their largest field training in years, but North Korea is anticipated to continue its missile testing, as the US is allegedly planning to send an aircraft carrier to the South for another round of joint drills.
Kim supervised a three-day drill that simulated nuclear counterattacks on enemy naval assets and ports, according to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The drills, according to KCNA, are intended to warn the US and South Korea of a looming "nuclear catastrophe" as they continue their "intentional, relentless, and aggressive war drills," which the North perceives as invasion preparations.
The revelation came just hours after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol threatened to make North Korea pay for its "reckless provocations" during a memorial ceremony for scores of South Korean troops killed in significant skirmishes with the North along their western maritime border in recent years.
According to KCNA, the latest exercises confirmed the operational dependability of the North's underwater nuclear attack drone, which it has been building since 2012. According to the report, the drone was sent off the eastern coast of the North on Tuesday, went underwater for about 60 hours, and exploded a test warhead at a target representing an enemy port.
North Korea is thought to have dozens of nuclear bombs that may be fitted onto outdated weapons systems like Scuds or Rodong missiles. Nevertheless, opinions disagree on how far it has progressed in designing those warheads to fit on the new weapons it has created at a quick rate, which may necessitate more technological improvements and nuclear tests.
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup told legislators on Thursday that the North has probably not yet mastered the technology to equip its most powerful weapons, but recognizing that the country is making "substantial progress."
North Korea also conducted cruise missile tests on Wednesday, which were identified and reported by South Korea's military. Pyongyang also carried out another nuclear strike scenario with a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday and last week flight-tested an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the continental United States.
According to KCNA, the tests on Wednesday involved four cruise missiles of two distinct classes. The missiles flew in patterns over the sea for more than two hours, displaying their capacity to attack targets 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) and 1,800 kilometers (1,118 miles) distant. It claimed that the dummy nuclear warheads on the missiles were exploded 600 meters (1,968 feet) over their targets, proving the dependability of its nuclear explosion control mechanisms and warhead detonators.
According to KCNA, Kim was happy with the three-day drills and assigned unspecified extra responsibilities to fight his adversaries' "reckless military provocations," implying that North Korea will increase its military demonstrations.
