Seoul, March 13 (BNA): The South Korean and US militaries conducted their largest joint military exercises in years today, Monday, as North Korea said it had tested submarine-launched cruise missiles, in an apparent protest against the exercises, which it considers a rehearsal for an invasion.
The launches in North Korea on Sunday indicate that the country is likely to conduct provocative weapons-testing activities during the 11-day US-South Korea exercises, the Associated Press reports.
Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his forces to prepare to fend off “frantic moves to prepare for war” by their rivals.
The South Korean-US exercises include a computer simulation called Freedom Shield 23 and several joint field exercises, collectively known as Warrior Shield FTX.
The South Korean and US militaries said earlier that the computer simulation is designed to enhance allies’ defense and response capabilities amid North Korea’s growing nuclear threats and other changing security environments. They said the field drills will also return to the level of their previous largest field drill called Foal Eagle which was last conducted in 2018.
A recent US military statement said the field exercises aim to further enhance “cooperation between the two militaries through air, land, sea, space, cyber, and special operations, and improve tactics, techniques, and procedures.”
North Korea said in state media that its firing of two cruise missiles from a submarine off its east coast showed its determination to respond with “overwhelming” force to the intensified military maneuvers by “US imperialists and South Korean puppet forces”.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency described the missiles as “strategic” weapons and said their launch underscores the pragmatic stance of deterring “nuclear war” in the country. This means that North Korea intends to arm cruise missiles with nuclear warheads.
It said the missiles flew for more than two hours, plotted figure-eight patterns and showed the ability to hit targets 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away. The missiles were launched from the Yongong 8.24 vessel, KCNA said, referring to a submarine North Korea used to conduct its first submarine-launched ballistic missile test in 2016.
Kim Dong-yup, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the reported launch details show that Japan, including US military bases in Okinawa, are within walking distance of cruise missiles, if they are launched from North Korea’s eastern waters. . He added that the weapons could reach even the US Pacific region of Guam if a North Korean submarine could operate further from its shore.
Sunday’s actions marked North Korea’s first underwater missile launch since it test fired a weapon from a silo under an internal tank last October. Last May, the country test-fired a short-range ballistic missile from the Yeongong 8.24 submarine.
North Korea’s command of submarine-launched missile systems would make it more difficult for adversaries to detect launches in advance and provide North Korea with a retaliatory attack capability. Experts say it will take years, huge resources and significant technical improvements for the heavily sanctioned country to build a fleet of several submarines that can quietly travel the seas and reliably deliver strikes.
Sunday’s tests were North Korea’s first known launches of cruise missiles from a submarine, as all previous underwater launches have involved ballistic missiles. Observers say it is also the first time North Korea has launched multiple missiles from a submarine in a single launch event.
“While efforts to build (larger submarines) have shown little progress due to sanctions, North Korea wants to show that it is still semi-developed in the types of missiles that can be launched from a submarine,” Moon Keun-sik said. A submarine expert who teaches at Kyunggi University in South Korea.
Moon said North Korea’s submarine-launched cruise missiles are likely designed to hit US aircraft carriers, large ships or other short-range targets on land, while North Korea wants to use submarine-launched ballistic missiles to strike targets in the US mainland.
The South Korean military said the North Korean launches took place in waters near the North Korean port city of Sinpo, where the country has a large submarine shipyard. Military spokesman Lee Seung-joon said South Korean assessments did not match the launch details provided by North Korea but gave no details.
Lee said the South Korean military is upgrading the assets needed to deal with North Korean submarine threats. South Korea’s Unification Ministry separately called the North Korean launches “extremely unfortunate”, saying North Korea gains nothing by stirring up tensions on the Korean peninsula.
After a record number of missile tests last year, North Korea has conducted several additional rounds since January 1. short-range, nuclear-capable missiles designed to strike South Korea; and other weapons.
Experts say Kim, who sees his nuclear arsenal as his best security guarantee, is trying to pressure the United States to accept North Korea as a legitimate nuclear power and ease international economic sanctions.
North Korea sees regular military exercises between South Korea and the United States as a major security threat, although allies say their maneuvers are defensive. Some observers say North Korea is using its rivals’ exercises as a pretext to test weapons and upgrade its nuclear arsenal to secure the upper hand in dealing with the United States.
In past years, the United States and South Korea canceled or reduced the exercises to pursue diplomatic efforts to denuclearize North Korea and out of fear of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries again expanded the exercises after North Korea conducted more than 70 missile tests in 2022 and adopted an increasingly aggressive nuclear doctrine.
In recent weeks, the United States has flown long-range bombers to conduct exercises with the South Korean fighter. South Korea’s defense ministry said the deployments demonstrated the US’s commitment to using a full range of military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its Asian ally in the event of a direct conflict with North Korea.
Last Thursday, Kim oversaw a live-fire artillery drill simulating attacks on a South Korean airport. He ordered his army to maintain the ability to “respond overwhelmingly” to enemy action, which he said included “all kinds of frantic moves to prepare for war,” according to the KCNA.
On Monday, North Korea’s foreign ministry also accused the United States and other Western countries of planning a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss what it described as a “non-existent human rights issue”. It said North Korea would take “the strongest counter-response against the most ferocious hostile plots of the United States and its minions.”