Pyongyang’s provocations continue. North Korea confirmed on Thursday that it had fired two short-range ballistic missiles, saying it was a “tactical nuclear strike simulation” in response to US-South Korean maneuvers, the report said. North Korean state agency KCNA.
These missiles, whose launches had been announced by the South Korean army, were fired on Wednesday “in simulation of a tactical nuclear strike aimed at totally destroying the main command centers and air bases” on the other side of the border, in South Korea, according to KCNA, received in Seoul.
The missiles were fired into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, just before midnight, according to the South Korean military.
military exercises
The firings come as the United States and South Korea hold their annual joint military exercises, Ulchi Freedom Shield, which always infuriate Pyongyang.
“While heightening our surveillance and vigilance against any further provocation, our military remains alert and ready to intervene in close cooperation with the United States,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a message to the press. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, speaking at a press briefing in Washington when the announcement was made, declined to comment.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for strengthening the Navy due to the “risk of nuclear war” in its waters, state media reported on Tuesday.
Failure to launch a spy satellite into orbit
Kim Jong-un accused Washington of being “more restless than ever” with joint naval maneuvers and the permanent deployment of strategic nuclear assets in waters around the Korean peninsula.
The United States, South Korea and Japan have stepped up defense cooperation in recent months and conducted a joint naval missile defense exercise on Tuesday to counter increased nuclear and missile threats from Pyongyang.
The exercise in international waters off South Korea’s Jeju Island involved destroyers equipped with Aegis radar systems from all three countries, the South Korean Navy said in a statement.
Until August 31, the United States and South Korea carry out annual large-scale military maneuvers, arousing the ire of Pyongyang. North Korea has conducted a record number of weapons tests this year and last week made its second attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit, which ended in failure.