North Korea leader Kim, with daughter in tow, leads drills ‘simulating nuclear counter-attack’

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (seated) and his daughter observing a missile launch exercise simulating a tactical nuclear attack on March 20, 2023. PHOTO: AFP

SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un led two days of military drills “simulating a nuclear counter-attack”, including the firing of a ballistic missile carrying a mock nuclear warhead, state news agency KCNA reported on Monday.

Mr Kim expressed “satisfaction” over the weekend drills, which were held to “let relevant units get familiar with the procedures and processes for implementing their tactical nuclear attack missions”, the report said.

In the exercises, a ballistic missile equipped with a mock nuclear warhead flew 800km before hitting a target at the altitude of 800m under the scenario of a tactical nuclear attack, KCNA said.

The drills were the fourth show of force from Pyongyang in a week and came as South Korea and the United States stage their own military manoeuvres – 11 days of joint drills known as Freedom Shield, their largest in five years.

North Korea views all such exercises as rehearsals for invasion and has repeatedly warned it would take “overwhelming” action in response.

Saturday and Sunday’s drills were divided into exercises simulating the shift to a nuclear counter-attack posture and a drill for “launching a tactical ballistic missile tipped with a mock nuclear warhead”, KCNA said.

Mr Kim called for the country to stand ready to conduct nuclear attacks at any time to deter war, accusing the US and South Korea of expanding joint military drills involving American nuclear assets.

“The present situation, in which the enemies are getting ever more pronounced in their moves for aggression against the DPRK, urgently requires the DPRK to bolster up its nuclear war deterrence exponentially,” KCNA quoted him as saying, using the official Democratic People’s Republic of Korea name.

KCNA photos showed Mr Kim attended the test, again with his young daughter, as flames roar from the soaring missile before it hit the target.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Sunday that the short-range ballistic missile fired by Pyongyang landed in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

They branded it a “serious provocation” that violated United Nations sanctions and said it was being analysed by the US and South Korean intelligence services.

Seoul and Washington have ramped up defence cooperation in the face of growing military and nuclear threats from the North, which has conducted a series of banned weapons tests in recent months.

The US and South Korea navies and marine corps are set to kick off their first large-scale Ssangyong amphibious landing exercises in five years on Monday for a two-week run until April 3.

In another dispatch, KCNA said more than 1.4 million North Koreans have volunteered to join or re-enlist in the military to fight against Seoul and Washington, up from some 800,000 reported by a state newspaper just two days before.

Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations said on Sunday they regret the inaction by the UN Security Council over North Korea’s missile tests.

In a statement, they noted “obstruction” by some members of the council. Though they did not name them, China and Russia have blocked recent attempts to do more in response to North Korea.

The group condemned North Korea’s March 16 launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile as “undermining regional and international peace and security”. AFP

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