North Korea Says Recent Missile Tests Were Practice To Hit U.S. And South Korean Targets

Topline

North Korea announced its recent string of missile tests, which resulted in evacuation alarms in parts of South Korea and Japan last week, was practice to strike South Korean and U.S. targets, including air bases and operation command systems.

People at a Seoul Railway Station shown image of a North Korean missile launch

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Key Facts

Weapons involved in the tests include ballistic missiles loaded with dispersion warheads, ground-to-air missiles for use against enemy aircraft, and cruise missiles, which reportedly landed about 50 miles off the coast of South Korea.

Testing of a ballistic missile armed with a special warhead for “paralyzing the operation command system of the enemy” was also conducted, the North Korean military said in a statement.

South Korean military spokesperson Kim Jun-rak disputed the legitimacy of some of the tests, adding that North Korea’s cruise missile launches were not detected.

The United States responded Saturday as its military flew two B-1B supersonic bombers over South Korea for the aircraft’s first flyover since December 2017–which South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said demonstrated its allies’ readiness and commitment.

Crucial Quote

In its statement, the General Staff of North Korea’s military said its recent moves were a result of the United States and South Korean militaries conducting joint arms exercise “Vigilant Storm.” “The recent corresponding military operations by the Korean People’s Army are a clear answer of (North Korea) that the more persistently the enemies’ provocative military moves continue, the more thoroughly and mercilessly the KPA will counter them,” it said.

Chief Critic

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup condemned recent North Korean military operations in a joint statement last Thursday, adding that any future use of nuclear weaponry “is unacceptable and will result in the end of the Kim Jong-un regime by the overwhelming and direct response of the alliance.”

Tangent

White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby previously told reporters that North Korea was aiding Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine by supplying it with artillery shells. Weapons are reportedly sent via illegal shipments from Pyongyang through the Middle East and North Africa.

Key Background

Tensions between the U.S., South Korea and North Korea have become more strained as the two allied nations conduct “Vigilant Storm,” a joint arms exercise for its combined warplane arsenal. Pyongyang has continued to warn both countries about the possible use of nuclear weaponry in response to the training drills, adding they will “pay the most horrible price in history.” North Korea’s military fired at least six missiles into the sea last Thursday in addition to three later short-range missiles sent off its coast. The day prior, it fired more than 20–the most reported to have launched in a single day.