Shillong, September 3: Amid escalating tensions in the region, North Korea conducted a drill simulating a tactical nuclear attack just a day after firing cruise missiles in the wake of a major joint exercise between South Korea and the US.
According to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the drill aimed to warn potential adversaries of the threat of an actual nuclear conflict. The KCNA reported that “Two long-range strategic cruise missiles tipped with mock nuclear warheads were fired.”
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff revealed that the North had fired several cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea shortly after 4 a.m. on Saturday. This launch came shortly after the conclusion of the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise conducted by South Korea and the US, which Pyongyang had criticized as a rehearsal for invasion.
North Korea claimed that the “nuclear strike mission” was a success, with the missiles covering a distance of 1,500 kilometers and detonating at a predetermined altitude of 150 meters above the target.
The KCNA accused the allies of openly revealing their military confrontation plans and stressed that North Korea’s nuclear capabilities would be enhanced to deter war and maintain peace and stability.
South Korea’s military, however, expressed skepticism about North Korea’s claims of a successful simulated tactical nuclear strike mission, suggesting that not all the missiles had succeeded.
In a separate report, the KCNA stated that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had inspected a shipbuilding manufacturing facility and a munitions factory, emphasizing their roles in enhancing the nation’s military capabilities. Kim indicated that a future plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea would set forth important directions for modernizing the complex and developing the shipbuilding industry.