N Korea says missile tests simulate Southward attack with nuclear weapons

N Korea says missile tests simulate Southward attack with nuclear weapons

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversees a missile launch at an undisclosed location in North Korea in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on October 10, 2022. KCNA

Seoul (Reuters) - North Korea's recent missile tests were designed to bombard the South with strategic nuclear weapons as a warning after massive naval exercises by South Korean and US forces, state news agency KCNA reported. said on Monday.

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles early Sunday, officials in Seoul and Tokyo said, the seventh such launch since Sept. 25.

Leader Kim Jong Un has conducted guided exercises by nuclear tactical units over the past two weeks, involving ballistic missiles with simulated nuclear warheads, KCNA said were meant to deliver a strong message of war deterrence.

KCNA said the tests simulated striking military command facilities, main ports and airfields in the south.

"The effectiveness and practical warfare capability of our nuclear combat force was fully demonstrated as it is fully prepared to target and destroy targets at any time from any location," the KCNA said.

"Even though the enemy continues to talk and talk about talks, we have nothing to talk about nor do we feel the need to do so," KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

KCNA said North Korea's ruling Workers' Party decided to conduct the exercises as an inevitable response to the massive mobilization of US and South Korean naval forces, including an aircraft carrier and a nuclear-powered submarine.

Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment said, "The statement he issued is very clear that this recent set of tests was a sign of resolve for the United States and South Korea as they carried out their military activities. " for international peace.

The United States and South Korea held a joint maritime exercise involving a US aircraft carrier on Friday, a day after South Korea landed fighter jets in response to an apparent North Korean aerial bombing exercise.

The naval exercise involved the US carrier Ronald Reagan and its strike group. Earlier, naval forces of South Korea, Japan and the United States also conducted joint exercises.

Following North Korea's statement on Monday, South Korean President Eun Suk-yol's office said, "In order to properly prepare, correct the seriousness of security issues in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia," an official was quoted as saying. It's important to be recognized."

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida separately condemned Pyongyang's recent missile launches and vowed to work towards "complete denuclearization of North Korea in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions".



"This series of ballistic missile (launches) and these various provocative acts are a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and absolutely unacceptable," Kishida told reporters when asked to comment on Monday's statement.

US-led UN forces are still technically at war with North Korea because the 1950–1953 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

tactical nuclear weapons

Panda said North Korea had referred to only one missile as a strategic nuclear capability, but the statement clarified that several systems, new and old, would be assigned such a role.

Analysts said that if North Korea resumes nuclear testing, it could include the development of smaller "tactical" warheads for battlefield use and fitted over short-range missiles such as the recently tested missiles. is designed to be.

South Korean and US officials say there are signs North Korea may soon detonate a new nuclear device in underground tunnels at its Pungyae-ri nuclear test site, which was officially shut down in 2018.

Analysts say placing small arms on short-range missiles could represent a dangerous change in the way North Korea uses and plans nuclear weapons.

New Missile, Underwater Silos

On October 4, the North tested a ballistic missile farther than ever, flying a new intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) missile over Japan for the first time since 2017.

Analysts confirmed that photos released by state media show previously unseen IRBMs.

"However, it is incredibly unusual that they will test an untested missile for the first time over Japan; it suggests sufficient confidence in the engine," Panda said.

Other missiles shown in the photographs were short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), including the KN-25 and KN-23 types with a heavy payload of 2.5 tons as well as the KN-09 300mm multiple launch rocket. System (MLRS).

The photos specifically show the test of a "navy" KN-23 designed to launch from a submarine. That missile was shown in a test at sea last year, but this time the test was conducted in such a way that state media simulated a launch dubbed "a silo under a reservoir".

This year North Korea has tested missiles from various locations and launch platforms, including trains, in what analysts say is an attempt to simulate a conflict and make it difficult for enemies to detect and destroy missiles.

The KN-23 is designed to perform a "pull-up" maneuver as it approaches a target, the purpose of which is to help the missile evade defenses.

(This story has been refined to correct the spelling of "Kishida" in paragraphs 12-13.)

(Reporting by Cynthia Kim and Jack Kim; Additional reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Aurora Ellis, Lincoln Feast and Gerry Doyle)