North Korea fired two rockets yesterday from its latest launcher, claiming it is capable of a “tactical nuclear attack” that can take out entire enemy air bases.
It was North Korea’s second weapons launch in 48 hours, after it fired one of its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) on Saturday, in response to planned US-South Korea military drills.
Japan said the missile landed in its exclusive economic zone, and its launch prompted the US and South Korea to stage joint air drills on Sunday.
Photo: AFP
Pyongyang said the Korean People’s Army (KPA) conducted yesterday’s drill in response to those US-South Korean exercises, blaming the allies for the deteriorating security situation, the official North Korean Central News Agency reported.
“Through today’s firing drill, with the involvement of super-large multiple rocket launchers, the tactical nuclear attack means, the KPA demonstrated its full readiness to deter and will to counter” the joint air drills, it said.
The South Korean military said it detected the launch of two short-range ballistic missiles yesterday at 7am. One traveled 390km, and the other 340km, before they landed in the East Sea, it said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.
It described the launches as “a serious provocation that undermines peace and stability on the Korean peninsula,” and called on North Korea to stop “immediately.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister Kim Yo-jong warned that the country was closely monitoring Washington and Seoul’s moves to deploy more US strategic assets to the region, vowing “corresponding counteraction” if Pyongyang deemed such moves a threat.
“The frequency of using the Pacific as our firing range depends upon the US forces’ action character,” she said in a statement.
Pyongyang said its Saturday launch was a “surprise” drill that demonstrated North Korea’s capacity to carry out a “fatal nuclear counterattack.”
In response, Seoul and Washington staged joint air drills on Sunday, featuring a strategic bomber and stealth fighter jets.
The sanctions-busting launch was widely condemned, including by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who yesterday called on Pyongyang to cease “provocative actions.”
North Korea gave its soldiers an “excellent mark” for carrying out the “sudden launching drill” on Saturday, but South Korean analysts pointed out that the estimated nine hours between the order and the launch was not particularly rapid.
Kim Yo-jong yesterday dismissed such criticism as “a bid to undervalue the preparedness of the DPRK missile forces,” she said, using North Korea’s official name.
The angry reaction was part of a pattern of North Korea pushing back against any external analysis of its ICBM capabilities, Korea Institute for National Unification research fellow Hong Min said.
“Kim’s strong and angry reaction to outside assessment of its ICBM launch shows the North really cares about delivering a message that it is capable of hitting the US mainland,” he said.
Yesterday’s launches were North Korea’s response to the US-South Korea air exercise on Sunday, he added.
Using shorter-range missiles indicated North Korea was “virtually targeting US bases and South Korean command center in the area,” he added.
The North Korean weapons launches came ahead of a joint US-South Korean tabletop exercise this week, aimed at improving their response in the event of a nuclear attack by Pyongyang.
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