North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a strategic cruise missile launch, according to the country's state news agency KCNA, as South Korea and the United States began their largest-ever joint military maneuvers.
Mr. Kim visited a navy fleet stationed on North Korea's east coast to supervise a missile launch on a vessel, according to KCNA, but did not identify the date of his visit.
The goal of the launch, according to the official mouthpiece, was to test the "combat function of the ship and the feature of its missile system," as well as to improve sailors' capacity to carry out a "attack mission in actual war."
According to KCNA, the missile successfully struck its target, and Mr. Kim stated that the ship will maintain "high mobility, mighty striking power, and constant combat readiness to deal with unexpected situations."
South Korea's defense ministry said that it had detected evidence of the launch, but called KCNA's statements "exaggerated" and "different from the facts."
Choi Il, a former navy commander who now leads a naval power think tank, claims the missiles aboard the ship have a range of more than 620 miles (1,000 km) and can reach terrestrial targets. Mr. Choi stated that the new ship appeared to be a corvette-class vessel built to avoid radar detection.
The North Korean missile test coincided with the start of joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States on Monday.
According to the South Korean military, the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills would be "the largest scale ever," including tens of thousands of troops from both sides as well as certain United Nations member states. Command.
The annual exercises are primarily meant to practice a robust coordinated reaction in the event of a North Korean missile assault.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stated that the summer drills will include multiple contingency scenarios, including cyber, terror, and drone assaults, as well as a North Korean misinformation campaign.
“True peace is preserved only by overwhelming force, not by one-sided begging or goodwill,” Yoon told a meeting of the National Security Council.
“North Korea talks about preemptive nuclear strikes and preparations for an offensive war, but we will immediately and overwhelmingly retaliate for any provocations.”
North Korea has long viewed the drills as a rehearsal for an invasion, even threatening nuclear Armageddon during the joint US-South Korean springtime military exercises in April.
South Korean lawmakers have suggested that the North could conduct an intercontinental ballistic missile test or take other military action in response to the allies' drills or last week's security summit between South Korea, the United States, and Japan, which also singled out China as a potential threat in the South China Sea.
North Korea has advanced its missile program in the last two years, developing new intercontinental rockets capable of carrying nuclear bombs.
Mr. Kim also promised to strengthen the North Korean navy with greater combat effectiveness and contemporary surface and undersea offensive and defensive capabilities, according to KCNA.
“We would put spurs to the modernization of naval weapons and equipment, including the building of powerful warships and the development of shipboard and underwater weapon systems,” Mr. Kim was quoted as saying.
