North Korea’s Kim watches cruise missile launch as US and South Korean troops begin annual drills

Seoul, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watched the test launch of strategic cruise missiles from a navy ship, state media reported Monday, as the US and South Korean militaries kicked off major annual exercises the North views as an invasion trial.

North Korea’s report on the missile tests came three days after the leaders of the United States, South Korea and Japan held their first independent trilateral summit and agreed to seek greater cooperation on ballistic missile defense to counter threats. North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile systems.

During an inspection visit of a navy flotilla on the east coast on an unspecified date, Kim boarded a patrol boat to check its weapons and combat readiness, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. He said Kim then watched his sailors conduct a mock launch of “strategic” cruise missiles, a word that implies the weapons tested were developed to carry nuclear warheads.

A state media photo showed him looking at a missile that was flying from the patrol boat from another location, not the ship.

KCNA said the missiles hit the designated targets without any errors, demonstrating the ship’s readiness and strike capability.

Kim said he will boost efforts to build powerful warships and modernize shipboard and underwater weapon systems for the North’s navy. He called on the country’s sailors to develop “overwhelming ideological and spiritual strength,” saying that is more important than numerical or technical weapons superiority, according to KCNA.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that North Korea’s report on its cruise missile tests contains content that is “exaggerated” and “not consistent with the facts.” He said the South Korean military will maintain a firm readiness based on its ability. that can overwhelmingly defeat potential North Korean provocations.

North Korea was widely expected to resume weapons tests in reaction to the 11-day summer military training of the United States and South Korea that began on Monday.

Ulchi Freedom Shield training is a computer simulated command post exercise. The US and South Korean militaries said they also plan to hold large-scale field exercises.

In recent years, North Korea has criticized major drills by the United States and South Korea as practice for an invasion and has responded to them with missile tests. US and South Korean officials maintain that the exercises are defensive in nature and have no intention of attacking the North.

Since early 2022, North Korea has conducted more than 100 weapons tests, some involving nuclear-capable ballistic missiles designed to strike the mainland United States and its allies South Korea and Japan. The United States and South Korea have expanded their regular training exercises in response.

During their summit at Camp David, President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said they intend to make the data sharing of real-time missile alert on North Korea and conduct annual trilateral exercises. .

The three leaders also announced the establishment of a trilateral working group to boost cooperation to combat North Korea’s cyber threats and block its evasion of cyber sanctions. Biden said the three nations would also establish a hotline to discuss responses to the threats.

North Korea has said the drive by the three countries to strengthen their security cooperation compels it to bolster its own military capabilities.

South Korea’s spy service told lawmakers on Thursday that North Korea was taking steps to launch long-range missiles and an attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit. North Korea’s first attempt to launch a spy satellite in late May failed, when a rocket carrying the satellite plunged into the ocean shortly after liftoff.

___

Find more of AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific