North Korea's Kim oversees simulated nuclear counterattack against US, South Korea (updated)

SsangyongC&E Co

19/03/2023 21:30

(Adds more quotes, South Korea, analyst comment in paragraphs
2-4, 7-10)
    By Hyonhee Shin
       SEOUL, March 20 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong
Un has overseen drills simulating a nuclear counterattack
against the U.S. and South Korea in a warning to the allies who
are scaling up their joint military exercises, state media KCNA
said on Monday. 
    The North's drills involved a short-range missile launch but
- unusually - the missile flew from a buried silo, which
analysts say would help improve speed and stability in future
tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). 
    KCNA said the exercises on Saturday and Sunday were designed
to boost the country's "war deterrence and nuclear counterattack
capability," accusing Washington and Seoul of making an
"explicit attempt to unleash a war" against it.  
    "The drill also aimed to demonstrate our tougher will to
make an actual war response and send a stronger warning to the
enemy who expand their war drills for aggression," KCNA said. 
    In the exercises, a ballistic missile equipped with a mock
nuclear warhead flew 800 km (497 miles) before hitting a target
under the scenario of a tactical nuclear attack, KCNA said. 
    KCNA photos showed Kim attended the test, again with his
young daughter, as flames roared from the soaring missile before
it hit the target. 
    Analysts said the photos suggested the launch involved a
KN-23 short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), but unlike past
tests, the engine exhaust appeared to be vented either side at
the moment of liftoff, which could mean that a silo was used. 
        "Until now, North Korea has preferred mobile launchers
for everything from SRBMs to even huge ICBMs, but given its poor
road and system conditions, it was difficult to guarantee the
stability of the missile during actual operations," said Yang
Uk, a fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul. 
"The latest launch might possibly serve as a test for future
launches of larger missiles like the Hwasong-17 ICBM in a silo."
  
        South Korea's defence ministry spokesman said the North
is making significant technological advances in its nuclear
programme but did not elaborate. 
  
        
  
        'NUCLEAR WAR DETERRENCE'
  
        Kim said the exercises improved the military's war
capability and urged the military to stand ready for any
"immediate and overwhelming nuclear counterattack anytime." 
        "The present situation, in which the enemies are getting
ever more pronounced in their moves for aggression against the
DPRK, urgently requires the DPRK to bolster up its nuclear war
deterrence exponentially," KCNA quoted him as saying.
    Kim was using the acronym of his country's official name,
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
    "The nuclear force of the DPRK will strongly deter, control
and manage the enemy's reckless moves and provocations with its
high war readiness, and carry out its important mission without
hesitation in case of any unwanted situation," he added.
    South Korea and Japan reported a launch of a North Korean
short-range ballistic missile off the east coast on Sunday, the
latest in a series of missile tests in recent weeks. 
    North Korea has reacted furiously to South Korea-U.S.
combined military drills, calling them a rehearsal for invasion
against it. 
    The allies have been carrying out exercises this month,
including air and sea drills on Sunday involving U.S. B-1B
bombers. 
    The U.S. and South Korea navies and marine corps are set to
kick off their first large-scale Ssangyong amphibious landing
exercises in five years on Monday for a two-week run until April
3.
    Last month, the two countries staged tabletop exercises
simulating North Korea's nuclear attack amid South Korean
President Yoon Suk Yeol's push for more confidence in U.S.
extended deterrence - its military capability, especially
nuclear forces, to deter attacks on its allies.  
    In another dispatch, KCNA said more than 1.4 million North
Koreans have volunteered to join or re-enlist in the military to
fight against Seoul and Washington, up from about 800,000
reported by a state newspaper just two days before. 

 (Reporting by Hyonhee Shin in Seoul; Additional reporting by
Josh Smith in Seoul; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Chris Reese.
Editing by Gerry Doyle)
 ((hyonhee.shin@thomsonreuters.com;))