North Korea said Monday it conducted a joint live-fire exercise involving missiles, artillery and drones, claiming the operation demonstrated “huge destructive power”.The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Saturday’s drill was intended to familiarize personnel with procedures for operating an integrated firepower command system. South Korea’s military had earlier detected short-range ballistic missile launches from Wonsan on North Korea’s eastern coast Saturday morning.
After observing the exercise, Marshal Pak Jong-chon said it would “improve the level of specialisation to bring down the enemy’s armed forces organisationally and structurally once an order is issued”. He added that the deployed weapons systems demonstrated “the huge destructive power of concentrated fire”, according to KCNA.
The “joint firepower attack drill” involved five army units and tested attack drones, tactical cruise missiles, tactical ballistic missiles and large-calibre multiple rocket launchers, KCNA said.
North Korea’s claims about its weapons tests are extremely difficult to verify independently. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said several missiles fired Saturday each traveled about 250km (155 miles) toward the country’s eastern waters. Those ranges indicate that the weapons are capable of reaching targets in South Korea.
The firing exercise marked North Korea’s first publicly announced ballistic missile launches in about three weeks.
Also Read
- China’s Xi Jinping proposes BRICS ‘open-source AI zone’
- Gaza’s Hospitals Overwhelmed by Rising Premature Births and Critical Incubator Shortages
- Nvidia’s Chip Design Strategy Could Reshape Micron’s Prospects Well Before Spending Winds Down
- Lanterns Episode 5 Recap: Hal Jordan’s Divisive Arc and a Missed Emotional Core
