In an apparent attempt to manage joint South Korean and US military exercises, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a naval unit and inspected a cruise missile test aboard a warship.
The North Korean leader checked the 2nd Flotilla of Surface Ships of the Baltic Fleet the army of Korean People’s Army (EPC), as reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). He also witnessed how the sailors of the patrol boats conducted a test exercise the launch of “strategic” cruise missilesto check the ship’s “regular mobilization and attack capability posture”.
“In the exercise, aimed at reconfirming the combat role of the ship and the characteristics of its missile system, as well as training the sailors to carry out the offensive mission in a real war, andThe ship quickly hit the target without making a single mistake‘ the KCNA explained.
Likewise, Kim pledged to strengthen his navy to make it one a “complete and powerful” service group with increased combat effectiveness and with modern means of attack and defense capabilities on the surface and under water, according to the KCNA. North Korea”Promote the modernization of naval weapons and equipmentincluding building powerful warships and developing naval and submarine weapon systems,” he stressed.
sailor dress
Although the dictator’s visit report did not mention the date of the test, the state-run KCNA on Monday released some photos showing them Kim dressed in black and white with uniformed sailors, on the deck of the ship. Other images showed the missile being launched from a ship amid a large plume of smoke.
The inspection came with the expectation that the Hermit Kingdom might undertake major provocative actions, such as the launch of ICBMs (ICBM) to protest the joint Allied military exercises. And it is that the North has denounced for some time that the Seoul-Washington maneuvers are an apparent test of a possible invasion.
It should be noted that during his recent visit to the main ammunition factories, the North Korean leader asked for a… “dramatic increase” in missile production capacity of the country and the preparations for war in an “offensive” manner. The launch of North Korea’s vast arsenal of ballistic missiles is prohibited by UN Security Council resolutions. Tests of cruise missiles are not prohibited, but they pose a serious threat They fly at a lower altitude to avoid radar detection. Analysts say that this country intends to use cruise missiles to attack US warships and aircraft carriers in the event of a conflict.
Since early 2022 Pyongyang has conducted more than 100 weapons testssome with nuclear-capable missiles intended to reach the US mainland and its allies South Korea and Japan.
Exercises in Seoul and Washington
This Monday, South Korea and the United States launched it Annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise (UFS), which includes various emergency drills, such as B. Command post exercises based on computer simulations, simultaneous field training and civil defense exercises. Some maneuvers last until August 31st.
At the trilateral summit, held at the legendary presidential retreat at Camp David last week, the leaders of Washington, Seoul and Tokyo approved a series of documents and said they would open a meeting from this moment “new chapter” of close security cooperation, Until recently, this was unthinkable due to tensions between Tokyo and Seoul related to the harsh history of Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945. It was the first time that the three heads of state and government met for an autonomous summit And although China was the main topic, North Korea was also on the agenda.
For his part, Kim has claimed that the three countries’ push to strengthen their defense cooperation is forcing him to strengthen his own military capabilities. The South Korean spy service informed parliamentarians last Thursday that the North was advancing to launch long-range missiles and put a spy satellite into orbit. His first attempt to start a similar project at the end of May failed miserably.