The South Korean and U.S. militaries launched their biggest joint military exercises in years Monday, as North Korea said it conducted submarine-launched cruise missile tests in apparent protest of the drills it views as an invasion rehearsal.
North Korea's missile tests Sunday signal the country likely will conduct provocative weapons testing activities during the U.S.-South Korean drills that are to run for 11 days. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his troops to be ready to repel its rivals' "frantic war preparation moves."
North Korea said in state media that its launches of two cruise missiles from a submarine off its east coast showed its resolve to respond with "overwhelming powerful" force to the intensifying military maneuvers by the "the U.S. imperialists and the South Korean puppet forces." The reported launch details show Japan, including U.S. military bases in Okinawa, is within striking distance of the cruise missiles, if they are fired from the North's eastern waters, said Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. He added the weapons could reach even the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam if the submarine could operate at a greater distance from North Korean waters.
Kim Dong-yub, the professor, said Sunday's tests were the North's first known launches of cruise missiles from a submarine as its previous underwater launches all involved ballistic missiles. He said that North Korea is pushing to obtain various types of missiles and launch platforms to boost its ability to evade detection before launch or interception during flight.
After a record number of missile tests last year, North Korea has carried out several additional rounds since Jan. 1. Before Sunday's launches, the country also test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile potentially capable of reaching the mainland U.S.; short-range, nuclear-capable missiles designed to hit South Korea; and other weapons.
In past years, the U.S. and South Korea cancelled or scaled back some drills to pursue diplomatic efforts to denuclearize North Korea and out of concern about the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries once more expanded exercises after North Korea conducted more than 70 missile tests in 2022 and adopted an increasingly aggressive nuclear doctrine.
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