State media said on Thursday that North Korea had carried out a mock “scorched-earth” nuclear attack on South Korean sites in response to alliance drills that it claimed amounted to preparations for a preemptive nuclear strike by the United States.
North Korea stages nuclear strike drill: The state media stories described a future battle in unusually specific terms, including how the North would respond to any attack by attacking the South with nuclear weapons before advancing to take its land.
According to a statement from the general staff of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) of the North, “the KPA staged a tactical nuclear strike drill simulating scorched-earth strikes at major command centres and operational airfields of the ‘ROK’ military gangsters on Wednesday night.” The initials ROK stand for the Republic of Korea, which is the official name of South Korea.
The South Korean military reported that North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Wednesday, only hours after the US sent out B-1B bombers for joint air drills.
After North Korea’s late-night launch, which came after its second unsuccessful effort to launch its first spy satellite last week, the presidential office of South Korea called a security meeting.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated, “These actions threaten not only our country’s peace and stability but also that of the region and the international community, and we cannot tolerate them.”
The latest launch took place a day prior to the scheduled conclusion of 11 days of joint military exercises between South Korea and the US. Pyongyang has consistently criticized these exercises as war drills.
On Tuesday, the entire army’s commanding officers and personnel engaged in a simulation aimed at preparing them for a comprehensive conflict with the South, as reported by KCNA. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un saw a portion of the exercise.
North Korea Simulates Military Exercises Including Missile Launches Amid Rising Tensions
According to the article, the exercise simulated repelling an unexpected invasion before launching a counterattack to seize “the entire territory of the southern half.”
the formation of a front behind enemy lines, impeding the entry of “outside armed forces” into the conflict, and “making simultaneous super-intense strikes at the pivotal military command centres, military ports, operational airfields and other important enemy military targets,” according to KCNA, were all part of the simulation.
Accusing the leaders of the United States, South Korea, and Japan of being “gang bosses” who raise the possibility of a nuclear conflict in the region, Kim has been encouraging his military to increase war readiness.
The first missile fired by the North late on Wednesday night travelled 350 km (31 miles) and reached a height of 50 km (31 km), while the second missile also travelled 400 km (50 km), according to the Japanese defence ministry.