North Korea stages tactical nuclear attack drill
Published: 03:09 PM,Sep 03,2023 | EDITED : 07:09 PM,Sep 03,2023
SEOUL: North Korea conducted a simulated tactical nuclear attack drill that included two long-range cruise missiles in an exercise to 'warn enemies' the country would be prepared in case of nuclear war, the KCNA state news agency said on Sunday.
KCNA said the drill was successfully carried out and two cruise missiles carrying mock nuclear warheads were fired towards the West Sea of the Korean peninsula and flew 1,500 km at a preset altitude of 150 meters.
Pyongyang also said it would bolster its military deterrence against the United States and South Korea.
South Korea's military said the claim of success could be an exaggeration as 'not all of them succeeded,' Seoul's Yonhap News reported, citing a senior official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
KCNA also reportd that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Pukjung Machine Complex, which produces marine engines, and a munitions factory to stress the importance of strengthening Pyongyang's naval forces.
'He affirmed that a future plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the WPK (Worker's Party of Korea) would set forth an important modernization of the complex and the development direction of the shipbuilding industry,' a KCNA statement said.
The latest missile test came just after the joint annual exercises between South Korea and the United States, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, came to a close on Thursday. It featured air drills with B-1B bombers.
In a separate report, KCNA said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had inspected 'a major munitions factory', the latest in a string of visits to weapons plants in recent weeks.
Kim 'expressed satisfaction' and stressed the importance of the factory 'in bolstering up the armed forces of the DPRK', KCNA reported, using the acronym for North Korea's official name.
North Korea has conducted a record number of weapons tests this year, and last month failed in its second attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit.
Seoul and Washington have ramped up defence cooperation in response, staging joint military exercises with advanced stealth jets and US strategic assets.
Last week, Kim visited a training command post where he detailed future war plans, including 'making simultaneous super-intense strikes' at core military posts in the South.
Relations between the two Koreas are at their lowest point in years, and diplomacy has stalled after failed attempts to discuss Pyongyang's denuclearisation. — Agencies
KCNA said the drill was successfully carried out and two cruise missiles carrying mock nuclear warheads were fired towards the West Sea of the Korean peninsula and flew 1,500 km at a preset altitude of 150 meters.
Pyongyang also said it would bolster its military deterrence against the United States and South Korea.
South Korea's military said the claim of success could be an exaggeration as 'not all of them succeeded,' Seoul's Yonhap News reported, citing a senior official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
KCNA also reportd that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Pukjung Machine Complex, which produces marine engines, and a munitions factory to stress the importance of strengthening Pyongyang's naval forces.
'He affirmed that a future plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the WPK (Worker's Party of Korea) would set forth an important modernization of the complex and the development direction of the shipbuilding industry,' a KCNA statement said.
The latest missile test came just after the joint annual exercises between South Korea and the United States, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, came to a close on Thursday. It featured air drills with B-1B bombers.
In a separate report, KCNA said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had inspected 'a major munitions factory', the latest in a string of visits to weapons plants in recent weeks.
Kim 'expressed satisfaction' and stressed the importance of the factory 'in bolstering up the armed forces of the DPRK', KCNA reported, using the acronym for North Korea's official name.
North Korea has conducted a record number of weapons tests this year, and last month failed in its second attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit.
Seoul and Washington have ramped up defence cooperation in response, staging joint military exercises with advanced stealth jets and US strategic assets.
Last week, Kim visited a training command post where he detailed future war plans, including 'making simultaneous super-intense strikes' at core military posts in the South.
Relations between the two Koreas are at their lowest point in years, and diplomacy has stalled after failed attempts to discuss Pyongyang's denuclearisation. — Agencies