North Korea claims it launched cruise missiles as a warning to its adversaries
State media reports that leader Kim Jong Un supervised missile drills in the Yellow Sea this week
North Korea has conducted test launches of strategic cruise missiles to demonstrate its counterattack capabilities, according to state media.
Leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the missile drills in the Yellow Sea on Wednesday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff later confirmed that they had detected and tracked the launches.
Pyongyang carried out the drills as a warning to its “enemies” for allegedly undermining North Korea’s security and escalating tensions. The exercises also aimed to showcase the readiness of its nuclear operational capabilities, KCNA stated.
The missiles reportedly flew for 130 minutes along a 1,587 km (986-mile) trajectory and successfully hit their targets, according to the agency.
Kim Jong Un expressed satisfaction with the results, emphasizing that continuous testing of North Korea’s nuclear deterrence is a necessary and responsible measure to ensure its reliability and operational strength, KCNA added.
This marks North Korea’s fourth missile test this year and the second since U.S. President Donald Trump began his second term in office.
Trump, who previously held three summits with Kim in an unsuccessful bid to achieve Pyongyang’s nuclear disarmament, has indicated a willingness to reengage with the North Korean leader.
“I got along with him,” Trump said in a January interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. “He is not a religious zealot. He happens to be a smart guy.”
Source: Al Jazeera
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