On Thursday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles as part of a “tactical nuclear strike exercise” provoked by US-South Korean military drills, state media reported on Thursday.
The launch, first reported by the military of South Korea, occurred amid the United States and South Korea’s annual Ulchi Freedom Shield drills, which always enrage Pyongyang.
The missiles were shot late Wednesday in a “tactical nuclear strike exercise simulating burned land strikes at significant command centers and operating airfields” across the border in South Korea, the army of North Korea said in a statement.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted Seoul’s military as saying that the “tactical ballistic missiles” were shot towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, just before midnight. The army added that the exercise is aimed at delivering a clear message to the rivals.
This year, North Korea has led a record number of weapons tests.
KCNA said, that on Tuesday, Pyongyang also conducted its command-level troops exercises in reply to the US-South Korean drills, during which the nation’s leader Kim Jong Un visited a training command post.
The military south of the border was “holding a full willingness posture in association with the United States,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
