- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this week oversaw exercises using nuclear-capable multiple rocket launchers.
- The exercises were a response to heightened tensions, including North Korea's failed spy satellite launch and South Korea's air exercise.
- Around 18 projectiles were launched during the supervised exercises.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw drills involving the firing of nuclear-capable multiple rocket launchers to demonstrate the country's ability to carry out a pre-emptive strike against rival South Korea, state media reported Friday.
North Korea has simulated nuclear strikes against South Korea on numerous occasions, but the latest exercises came after animosities on the Korean Peninsula grew following North Korea's recent failed launch of a spy satellite.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency reported that the rocket-firing exercises were aimed at demonstrating North Korea's determination not to hesitate to launch a preemptive strike against South Korea if it was threatened. It quotes Kim as saying the exercises “will serve as an opportunity to clearly demonstrate the consequences our rivals will face if they provoke us.”
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Photos showed Kim watching from a distance as at least 18 projectiles were thrown.
This undated photo provided May 31, 2024, by the North Korean government shows what it says are shooting exercises at an undisclosed location in North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw drills involving the firing of nuclear-capable multiple rocket launchers to demonstrate the country's ability to carry out a pre-emptive strike against rival South Korea, state media reported Friday. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
KCNA suggested the drills were a response to a South Korean air drill conducted hours before North Korea's failed attempt to place its second spy satellite into orbit Monday evening.
The launch attempt drew strong condemnation from South Korea, the United States and other countries, as the UN bans any satellite launches by North Korea, viewing them as a cover for testing missile technologies. North Korea reacted angrily, arguing that it had the sovereign right to launch satellites.
Also this week, North Korea sent hundreds of huge balloons to South Korea carrying manure and other waste, and reportedly jammed GPS navigation signals in the South. No substantial damage was reported.
South Korea's Unification Ministry responded in a statement Friday that North Korea must stop “absurd and irrational provocations directed against us” or face unspecified “unbearable” consequences. Ministry spokesperson Kim Inae said separately that South Korea “strongly condemns” North Korea for its threats of pre-emptive strikes against the South.
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Observers believe South Korean retaliatory measures could include a resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts in North Korea featuring criticism of the human rights situation, world news and K-pop songs. North Korea is extremely sensitive to such broadcasts because most of its 26 million people do not have access to foreign television and radio programs.
The North Korean firing exercises appear to be test firings of short-range ballistic missiles that South Korea detected from the North Korean capital region on Thursday. Experts say North Korea's large artillery rockets blur the line between artillery systems and short-range ballistic missiles because they can create their own thrust and are guided when fired.
Since the start of 2022, North Korea has engaged in a series of provocative weapons tests to increase its nuclear capabilities to confront what it calls a growing U.S. military threat. Foreign experts say North Korea ultimately aims to use its larger nuclear arsenal to extract greater concessions from the United States when diplomacy resumes.