North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un conducted two-day military drills “simulating a nuclear counterattack” and involving a ballistic missile launch equipped with a “fake nuclear warhead”.
The information was advanced this evening by the North Korean state agency, KCNA, received in Seoul.
Kim Jong-Un said he was satisfied after the weekend’s exercises, according to KCNA.
It was Pyongyang’s fourth show of force in a week as Seoul and Washington conducted the biggest joint military exercises in five years.
North Korea views all such exercises as rehearsals for an invasion of its territory and has repeatedly warned it will respond in an “overwhelming” manner.
“The missile was equipped with a warhead that simulated a nuclear warhead,” KCNA said.
On Thursday, Pyongyang fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-17, the most powerful in its arsenal, in the presence of leader Kim Jong-Un and his daughter, shortly before a visit to Japan by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Separated for years due to a historic dispute, the two neighboring countries resumed talks at the highest level and decided to present a united front against North Korea.
This was Pyongyang’s second ICBM test this year, which KCNA described at the time as a response to “frantic” military exercises by South Korea and the United States.
The test followed the launch of two short-range ballistic missiles on Tuesday and two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine on the 12th.
*With Lusa
