Kim Jong Un led missile launches simulating a nuclear counterattack against enemies

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un led salvo firings of the country’s “super large” missile launchers that simulated a nuclear counterattack against enemy targets, state media said on Tuesday, adding to tests and threats that have raised tensions in the region. Associated Press.

The report by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) Korea came a day after the South Korean and Japanese militaries detected that North Korea had fired what they suspected were multiple short-range ballistic missiles from a region near its capital Pyongyang into the eastern seas.

Analysts say North Korea’s large artillery rockets blur the line between artillery systems and ballistic missiles because they can generate their own thrust and are guided in flight. The North has described some of those systems, including the 600mm rocket launchers that were tested on Monday, as capable of delivering tactical nuclear warheads.

The KCNA said Monday’s launches were the first demonstration of the country’s nuclear weapons command and control system, dubbed “Hekbanashoe,” or “nuclear trigger.” The report described the exercise as aimed at demonstrating the power and variety of attack capabilities of the country’s nuclear forces. North Korea amid deepening tensions with the United States and South Korea, which portray themselves as “warmongers” raising tensions in the region with their combined military exercises.