INA-source
North Korea announced today that it simulated "tactical nuclear" strikes over the past two weeks under the personal supervision of leader Kim Jong Un, in response to the "military threat" it said the United States and its allies posed.
Pyongyang has launched seven ballistic missiles in the past two weeks.
One of these projectiles flew over Japan for the first time since 2017. The international community expects North Korea to conduct a nuclear test soon, which will also be the first of its kind in five years.


 
In the face of this growing threat, the United States, South Korea, and Japan have intensified their military cooperation.
The three countries have conducted extensive naval and air maneuvers around the Korean peninsula in recent weeks, including the deployment of the nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.


 
But North Korea considers these maneuvers as a preparation for an invasion of its territory.
In response, "KPA units responsible for the use of tactical nuclear weapons organized military exercises from September 25 to October 9 with the aim of testing and evaluating the country's deterrence and nuclear counterattack capability, which is a strong warning to the enemies," the North's official news agency said today. .


 
The North's ballistic missile launches were "a simulation of a real war," the agency added, adding that the exercises included a "simulation of loading tactical nuclear warheads" aboard a missile that was then launched from a silo in the northwest of the country on September 25.


 
Other tests conducted in the following days included a simulation of "neutralizing airfields" in South Korea and "hitting major command centers" and "main ports of enemies".


 
As for the projectile that flew over Japan on October 4, it was "a new type of surface-to-surface medium-range ballistic missile," the agency said.


 
The missile traveled 4,500 km before it fell into the Pacific Ocean, which experts estimate was the longest distance covered by a North Korean missile so far during the test.


 
The agency linked these tests to the joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea in the region, which it described as "an unfortunate situation that increases tension in the region and constitutes an open military threat" to North Korea.


 
It stated that "Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and chairman of its Central Military Commission, led the military exercises on the ground."


 
North Korea has conducted a record number of tests since the beginning of the year.
It adopted a new doctrine in September that asserts that its status as a nuclear power is "irreversible".


 
"They are looking for a tactical nuclear weapon, that's for sure," said security analyst Ankit Panda, adding that he suspected "they will gradually convert many of their new short-range missiles into nuclear weapons."


 
Analysts believe that Pyongyang has exploited the dispute within the UN Security Council to conduct more tests.


 
The Security Council held an emergency meeting last week after a North Korean missile flew over Japan.
But during this meeting, China, a historical ally of Pyongyang and also a source of its economic support, criticized Washington for causing these launches through its maneuvers in the region.


 
Seoul and Washington have been warning for months that Pyongyang will conduct another nuclear test, likely after the Chinese Communist Party Congress scheduled to open on October 16.
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Source: tellerreport