North Korea says missile launch was nuclear response drill
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a launch of “super-large” multiple rocket launchers intended for use in a nuclear counter-strike, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.
The report said the launch, which took place on Monday, marked the first demonstration of Pyongyang’s new nuclear weapons management and control system called the “nuclear trigger.”
On Monday, South Korean and Japanese authorities reported the launch of what they suspected to be several short-range ballistic missiles by North Korea. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectiles landed in waters to the east.
According to the report, Kim said the drills were in preparation for North Korea’s nuclear force to “correctly and rapidly” deter a war and “take initiative” in a war “in any time and any sudden situation.”
In 2022, North Korea presented itself as a “irreversible” nuclear weapons state, with a nuclear doctrine that authorizes the military to launch preemptive nuclear strikes if the country’s leadership perceives it is under threat.
A ‘warning’ to US, South Korea
KCNA said that Monday’s drill was a “clear warning signal” to the United States and South Korea as it was carried out amid “provocative and invasive” joint military exercises which run from April 12 to April 26.
The US and South Korean air forces have said the annual exercises would serve to “demonstrate lethality in the air domain and enhance their ability to deter, defend, and defeat any adversary.”
North Korea has accused the South and the US of inciting “extreme war fever” and openly talking about an “advance” towards North Korea.
The launches come after Pyongyang’s ally Russia used its United Nations Security Council veto in March to effectively end UN monitoring of sanctions violations on Kim’s government for its nuclear and weapons program.
On Saturday, the North Korean military announced that it had tested a “super-large” cruise missile warhead and a new anti-aircraft missile on Friday in an area along its Western coast.