North Korea fired several cruise missiles on Wednesday, March 22, said the South Korean army, which is currently conducting large-scale joint exercises with the United States. “The South Korean military has detected several cruise missiles launched in the East Sea,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported, referring to the Korean name of the Sea of Japan. “Detailed features are being analyzed by South Korean and US intelligence agencies,” the statement added.
After a record year of weapons testing and mounting nuclear threats from Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington stepped up their defense cooperation and on March 13 launched their largest joint military exercises in five years. Dubbed the “Freedom Shield,” these maneuvers are scheduled to end on Thursday. The South Korean military said it would “conduct planned joint exercises under Freedom Shield and maintain a firm joint defense posture.”
“Francic” exercises
North Korea sees all of these drills as rehearsals for an invasion of its territory and has repeatedly warned it will respond to them “overwhelmingly.”
Wednesday’s launch comes about a week after Pyongyang fired its most powerful missile, the Hwasong-17, its second ICBM test of 2023. Northern media described the launch of the ICBM as a response to ongoing “frenzied” exercises between the United States and South Korea.
In 2022, Pyongyang called its status as a nuclear power “irreversible”. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently called for an exponential increase in its weapons production, including tactical nuclear weapons. In early March, he also ordered his army to intensify military maneuvers for a “real war.”
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