North Korea Conducts Test Launch of Four Cruise Missiles as a Show of Nuclear Counterattack Capability
According to state media reports on Friday, North Korea conducted a drill on Thursday that involved firing four strategic cruise missiles as part of a demonstration of the country’s ability to carry out a nuclear counterattack against hostile forces. The rockets were fired by an operational, strategic cruise missile unit of the Korean People’s Army toward the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula.
Other units also conducted firepower training without live firing. The four missiles hit a preset target after traveling along 2,000 km-long elliptical and eight-shaped flight orbits for around 10,208 to 10,224 seconds. The exercise showcased North Korea’s nuclear combat force and its ability to a dangerous atomic counterattack against hostile forces.
The missile launches were not reported by South Korea or Japan, although the South Korean defense ministry confirmed they had monitored the launch.
The US and South Korea were conducting a tabletop practice centric on the chances of North Korea getting ready with a nuclear weapon simultaneously with the missile launch.
The foreign ministry of Pyongyang, however, criticized the US and its allies for heading a meeting of the UN Security Council over its recent missile tests and accused the United Nations of being unfair in its treatment of North Korea’s military activities while remaining silent about US and South Korean joint military activities.
