North Korea announced Sunday that it conducted simulated nuclear missile attacks as a warning to the United States, emphasizing the perceived "nuclear war danger."
The country launched a series of cruise missiles, some of which were equipped with imitation nuclear warheads. The state media outlet, *KCNA*, described this exercise as a simulation of a "tactical nuclear attack" aimed at alerting the US to the potential consequences of their actions.
According to *KCNA*, these exercises took place at dawn on Saturday and involved "two long-range strategic cruise missiles with mock nuclear warheads." The simulated nuclear attack was a response to joint military exercises conducted by the United States and South Korea earlier in the week, as reported by *KCNA*.
The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, as cited by *KCNA*, stressed the importance of these exercises through a "written drill order." The missile sub-unit involved in the exercise executed the mission successfully, with missiles following a specific flight pattern and warheads detonating at a predetermined altitude.
“The missile sub-unit involved… successfully carried out its nuclear strike mission by making sure that missiles flown along the pattern ‘8’ flight track simulating the distance of 1,500 kilometres (about 1 mile) for 7.672 to 7.681 seconds respectively and warheads detonated at a preset altitude of 150 meters above the target island,” the state-run media reported.
This latest missile exercise is part of a series conducted by North Korea this year. It marks the country's 18th missile test in 2023, a significant increase compared to four tests in 2020 and eight in 2021.
The exercise coincided with the commencement of annual joint military drills between South Korea and the United States, aimed at improving their preparedness against potential threats from North Korea.
The joint military drills are seen as a demonstration of the strong military alliance between the two nations, with the exercises focusing on counterattacking invading forces.
Notably, this type of drill had not been showcased since 2018 and comes following a commitment to strengthen military cooperation made during a May summit meeting between the US and South Korean presidents in Seoul.
The escalating tensions in the region underscore the ongoing challenges posed by North Korea's missile activities and the delicate diplomatic efforts required to maintain stability.