(DailyDig.com) – Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, claimed that on April 22, they tested their country’s rocket launchers for multiple missiles as a simulation for their response to a nuclear attack. According to the state media (KCNA), they simulated coordinated missile launches against enemy targets, escalating tensions with their neighbors.
The Japanese and South Korean militaries reported that they discovered the missiles firing from North Korea heading toward the eastern ocean. They suspected the missiles to be short-range, but their larger artillery rockets may be indistinguishable from their ballistic missiles.
According to the US State Department, the US and South Korean envoys will be meeting in Hawaii to discuss sharing the cost of US troops being hosted in South Korea. The KCNA reported the test both after its execution and before their meeting.
North Korea tested their rocket launchers before in counterstrike simulations, but the NCNA’s announcement stated that the test was a demonstration of the nuclear trigger control system. They stated that they can launch different weapons from rocket launchers, whether conventional or nuclear.
According to Jeffrey Lewis, a James Martin Center analyst, North Korea is developing a “command and control” system for when its leader, Kim, orders a launch, and how the units carry it out, and perform the launches.
A research associate, Joseph Dempsey, from the International Institute of Strategic Studies, stated that the drill attempted to display their capability to launch nuclear missiles. He determined that the exercise did little to display how proficient their system had become.
According to analysts, North Korea said that they have the ability to deliver smaller nuclear warheads with precision using the rocket launchers they tested on April 22. The NCNA stated that their test aimed to increase awareness in South Korea and the US about their robust and diverse nuclear attack capabilities.
Kim said the drill was a success in showing that they are able to act preemptively if they believe they are under threat.
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