Following the end of large-scale US military exercises with South Korea, North Korea again threatened a potential nuclear weapons attack. The self-proclaimed nuclear power confirmed on Sunday that it had fired two military guided missiles a day earlier. The aim of the exercise was to simulate a “tactical nuclear attack”, state media reported. This should alert North Korea’s enemies.
Pyongyang’s autocratic leadership sees the United States and South Korea as its enemies. The launches of two cruise missiles into North Korea, which is largely isolated internationally due to its nuclear weapons program, were recorded by the military in Korea do Sul on Saturday morning (local time). They were therefore shot down in the sea between the Korean peninsula and China. No further details were initially known.
According to North Korean media, the exercise was carried out in response to a written order from the Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission. Two “long-range strategic cruise missiles” with dummy nuclear warheads were fired. They flew 1,500 kilometers and then exploded over a target in the Yellow Sea.
Initially there was no official reaction from South Korea to the information. However, national news agency Yonhap quoted a General Staff official in Seoul on Sunday as saying the descriptions of North Korea were clearly exaggerated.
North Korea last fired two short-range ballistic missiles on the night of last Wednesday and Thursday. Later, he also spoke of a simulated “tactical nuclear attack”.
It was only on Thursday that South Korea and the US ended the eleven-day “Ulchi Freedom Shield” military exercise in the region, for which US strategic bombers were deployed, as well as fighter jets. Pyongyang regularly accuses the US and South Korea of using their military exercises to prepare for an attack – something both countries deny.
North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile program is seen as a direct threat by the United States and its allies South Korea and Japan. UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles, which – depending on their design – can also carry nuclear warheads. Cruise missile tests are not subject to sanctions against Pyongyang. However, these weapons can also be used to deploy nuclear warheads.