North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his daughter Ju Ae, observed a firepower drill featuring over ten 600mm precision multiple rocket launchers. During the event, Kim issued a stark warning to South Korea, vowing to demonstrate the devastating power of tactical nuclear weapons to adversaries within range.
On March 15, the Workers’ Party’s official newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported that the Korean People’s Army conducted a firepower strike drill on March 14, involving 12 units of 600mm precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies from the long-range artillery division in the western region.
The newspaper claimed that the launched rockets struck targets on islands in the East Sea at a distance of 364.4 km (about 226 miles) with 100% accuracy, reaffirming their destructive capabilities and military value.
Kim, who attended the event with his daughter Ju Ae, delegated command of the drill to Chang Ha, director of the missile bureau, and provided firing instructions.
After observing the exercise, Kim expressed satisfaction, asserting that no tactical weapon system globally surpasses the performance of this weapon system.
He emphasized the drill’s defensive nature, stating that the purpose of today’s exercise is simply to ensure the military fulfills its duties.
However, Kim also issued a thinly veiled threat, saying that this drill will instill anxiety in hostile forces within a 420 km (about 261 miles) range and provide a clear understanding of the tactical nuclear weapons’ devastating power.
He warned that if these defensive measures fail to deter foreign military provocations or invasions, they would immediately serve as massive destructive offensive weapons. Kim added ominously that if deployed, the opposing side’s military infrastructure within strike range would not withstand the impact.
Kim described the drill as a routine exercise to verify North Korea’s defense posture and war deterrence capabilities, indicating that such drills would continue regularly.
Earlier, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported detecting over ten ballistic missiles launched from North Korea’s Sunan area around 1:20 p.m. (South Korean time) the previous day, with an estimated flight distance of 350 km (about 217 miles).
This launch marks North Korea’s third ballistic missile test this year, occurring 47 days after the short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) fired into the East Sea on January 27.
The unusual launch of multiple missiles simultaneously is widely interpreted as a response to the ongoing U.S.-South Korea joint exercise Freedom Shield (FS), which began on March 9.
While the U.S. and South Korea have scaled back the field training exercises (FTX) to less than half of last year’s duration, North Korea continues to denounce the drills as invasion exercises.
Some analysts note that this show of force coincided with reports of former U.S. President Donald Trump expressing interest in dialogue with North Korea.
On March 13, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok had a 20-minute conversation with Trump at the White House. According to Kim, Trump mentioned maintaining a good relationship with the North Korean leader and inquired about potential talks.
However, experts suggest that North Korea’s missile launches likely follow a pre-planned military schedule and may not be an immediate reaction to Trump’s expressed interest in dialogue.
