Pyongyang, Aug 31 (UNI) North Korea, in response to the US-South Korea drills, has carried out a tactical nuclear strike drill simulating nuclear strikes at the territory of South Korea, the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) said Wednesday.
“On August 30 the U.S. imperialists let a formation of B-1B nuclear strategic bombers conduct a joint attack formation drill against the DPRK together with fighters of the military gangsters of the “Republic of Korea” in the sky above the East and West Seas of Korea … To cope with this, the KPA staged a tactical nuclear strike drill simulating scorched earth strikes at major command centers and operational airfields of the “ROK” [the Republic of Korea, South Korea] military gangsters on Wednesday night,” Pyongyang-run Korean Central News Agency quoted the general staff’s statement as saying.
The North’s military said that the US and South Korea’s Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is a serious threat to North Korea “as it was just pursuant to the scenario for a preemptive nuclear strike” and “opened this fact to the press and loudly advertise it as a ‘demonstration of the implementation of the extended deterrence'” against Pyongyang.
The military confirmed that a missile unit had fired two tactical ballistic missiles northeastward and “correctly carried out its nuclear strike mission through air bursts at a preset altitude of 400 meters above the target island.”
On Wednesday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea said North Korea had launched two ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan, which flew some 360 kilometers (223 miles) before falling into the sea. The military added that the detailed characteristics of the missiles were being analyzed by South Korean and US intelligence agencies.
The office of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday that Japan protests North Korea’s ballistic missile launches.
“The actions of North Korea, including continuous missile launches, threaten the peace and security of our country, the region and the global community. Such launches violate the United Nations Security Council resolutions. They pose a problem in terms of public safety. Japan strongly protests to North Korea and expresses its strong condemnation,” the office said in a statement.
Following the launch, Kishida also instructed that maximum effort be dedicated to gathering and analyzing information and providing it to the public, as well as that the safety of aircraft, vessels and other assets be ensured, and all possible measures be taken for precautions, including readiness for contingencies, the office said.
The US and South Korea are holding the annual exercise dubbed Ulchi Freedom Shield from August 21-31. On Wednesday, Seoul and Washington carried out an aviation exercise involving at least one B-1B strategic bomber.
