South Korean Army soldiers ride a K-5 self-propelled howitzer in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Monday, March 13, 2023.
Ahn Young-joon/AP
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South Korean Army soldiers ride a K-5 self-propelled howitzer in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Monday, March 13, 2023.
Ahn Young-joon/AP
SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean and U.S. militaries launched the largest joint military exercise in years on Monday, as North Korea said it had tested a submarine-launched cruise missile in protest. clearly what they see as an invasion maneuver.
North Korea’s missile tests on Sunday signaled the country is likely to conduct provocative weapons test activities during the 11-day US-South Korea military exercises. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his military to be ready to repel the “crazy war preparations” of his opponents.
Exercises between South Korea and the United States include a computer simulation called Freedom Shield 23 and several combined field training exercises, collectively known as Warrior Shield FTX.
The South Korean and US militaries said earlier that the computer simulation was designed to enhance allies’ defenses and response in light of North Korea’s growing nuclear threats and environments. Security is changing otherwise. They said the drills will also return to the scale of their previous largest field training, Foal Eagle, last held in 2018.
A recent U.S. military statement said the exercises are intended to further strengthen “the cooperation of the two militaries through air, land, sea, space, and cyber operations.” and special operations, while improving tactics, techniques, and procedures.”
North Korea said in state media that its launch of two cruise missiles from a submarine off its east coast showed its determination to respond with “strong overwhelming force” to the demonstrations. growing military exercises of “American imperialism and Korean puppet forces”.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency called the missiles “strategic” weapons and said their launches verified the operational posture of the country’s “nuclear war deterrence”. This implies that North Korea intends to equip cruise missiles with nuclear warheads.
It said the missiles flew for more than two hours, plotted figure-eight patterns and demonstrated their ability to hit targets 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away. KCNA said the missiles were fired from the Yongung 8.24, a reference to a submarine that North Korea used to conduct its first submarine-launched ballistic missile test in 2016.
Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of Korean Studies in Seoul, said the details of the reported launch showed that Japan, including the US military base in Okinawa, was within striking range. attack of cruise missiles, if they are fired from the waters east of North Korea. . He added that these weapons could even reach the US territory of Guam in the Pacific if a submarine could operate at a greater distance than North Korean waters.
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says is a cruise missile the country test-fired from a submarine off the east coast of North Korea in the early morning hours of Sunday, May 12. 3 year 2023.
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This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says is a cruise missile the country test-fired from a submarine off the east coast of North Korea in the early morning hours of Sunday, May 12. 3 year 2023.
AP
Sunday’s action was North Korea’s first underwater missile launch since the country test-fired a weapon from a bunker under an inland reservoir last October. Last May, the country test-fired a short-range ballistic missile from the same submarine.
North Korea’s command of submarine-launched missile systems would make it harder for adversaries to detect launches and would give North Korea the ability to strike back. Experts say it will take years, abundant resources and huge technological improvements for the heavily sanctioned nation to build a fleet of submarines that can navigate the seas lightly and perform attacks reliably.
Sunday’s tests were North Korea’s first known launch of a cruise missile from a submarine as the country’s previous underwater launches have all involved ballistic missiles. Observers said it was also the first time North Korea had fired multiple missiles from a submarine in a single launch event.
“At a time when efforts to build (larger submarines) have made little progress due to sanctions, North Korea wants to show that it is almost done developing submarine-launched missiles. “, said Mr. Moon Keun-sik. a submarine expert who teaches at Kyonggi University in South Korea.
Moon said North Korea’s submarine-launched cruise missiles are likely designed to hit US aircraft carriers and large ships or other short-range targets on the ground, while North Korea wants to use submarine-launched ballistic missiles to strike targets in the continental United States.
South Korea’s military said the North’s launches were carried out in waters near the North’s port city of Sinpo, where the country has a large submarine factory. Military spokesman Lee Sung Jun said South Korea’s assessments did not match the launch details North Korea provided, but did not elaborate.
Lee said the South Korean military has been upgrading the equipment needed to deal with North Korean submarines. South Korea’s Unification Ministry separately called the North’s launches “very regrettable”, saying the North had achieved nothing by increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
After a record number of missile tests last year, North Korea has conducted several more tests since January 1. Before Sunday’s launches, the country also test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile land capable of reaching the continental United States; short-range nuclear-capable missile designed to strike South Korea; and other weapons.
Experts say Kim, who sees his nuclear arsenal as his best security, is trying to pressure the United States to accept North Korea as a legitimate nuclear power and easing international economic sanctions.
North Korea views regular military exercises between South Korea and the United States as a major security threat, although allies say their drills are defensive. Some observers have suggested that North Korea uses rival drills as a pretext to test weapons and modernize its nuclear arsenal to gain an edge in its dealings with the United States.
Over the years, the United States and South Korea have canceled or scaled back some military exercises in pursuit of diplomatic efforts to denuclearize North Korea and due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries once again expanded their drills after North Korea conducted more than 70 missile tests in 2022 and adopted an increasingly belligerent nuclear doctrine.
In recent weeks, the United States has sent powerful long-range bombers to participate in joint air exercises with South Korean fighters. South Korea’s defense ministry said the deployment demonstrates the US commitment to use its full military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its Asian ally in the event of a direct conflict with North Korea.
Last Thursday, Mr. Kim oversaw a live-fire drill simulating attacks on a South Korean airport. He ordered his troops to maintain the ability to “overwhelm response” to the enemy’s actions, which he said included “all kinds of more frenzied war preparations” according to KCNA.
North Korea’s foreign ministry on Monday also accused the United States and its supporters of a conspiracy to convene a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss what it called a nonexistent “human rights” issue. in. It said North Korea would take the “strongest response against the most evil hostile plots of the United States and its supporters.”
