North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and daughter oversee test launch of multiple rocket launchers
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae, overseeing the test launch on March 14.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on March 14 oversaw the test launch of 12 600mm-calibre multiple rocket launchers, state media KCNA said, after the United States and South Korea this week launched annual major drills in South Korea.
He said the drill would expose “the enemies within the 420km striking range, to uneasiness” and “give them a deep understanding of the destructive power of tactical nuclear weapons”.
Images from state news agency KCNA showed Mr Kim and his daughter and potential successor, Kim Ju Ae, watching the weapons tests.
“The launched rockets battered the island target in the East Sea of Korea about 364.4km away with the accuracy of 100 per cent,” KCNA said.
South Korea’s military said on March 14 that North Korea fired more than 10 ballistic missiles towards the sea off the country’s east coast. The missiles were launched from an area near the capital Pyongyang around 1.20pm local time and flew about 350km, Seoul said.
Last week, North Korea’s Ms Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said US-South Korea military drills were a “provocative and aggressive war rehearsal” that would harm regional stability. South Korea and Washington say the drills are purely defensive and aimed at testing readiness against military threats from North Korea.
On March 14, North Korea said it would frequently conduct such regular drills to check its war deterrence.
North Korea has test-launched a wide range of ballistic and cruise missiles for more than two decades in a push to develop the means to deliver nuclear weapons, which it is believed to have successfully built.
As a result, Pyongyang has been under multiple UN Security Council sanctions since 2006 but it remains defiant, despite the severe obstacles they created to its trade, economy and defence.
On March 12, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok met US President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss ways to reopen dialogue with the North. Mr Trump is eager for any opportunity to sit down with North Korea’s Mr Kim Jong Un, South Korea’s Mr Kim Min-seok told reporters. REUTERS
