The South Korean and U.S. drills include a computer simulation and field training exercises. North Korea’s increasing nuclear threats, and concerns about China’s ambitions, are pushing the United States to beef up its Asian alliances.
South Korean and US military vehicles are seen at a military training field in the border city of Yeoncheon on March 13, 2023. The South Korean and U.S. militaries launched their biggest joint exercises in years Monday while North Korea said it tested submarine-fired cruise missiles in an apparent protest of the drills it views as an invasion rehearsal.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said that the launches of two cruise missiles from a submarine off its east coast showed a resolve to respond with "overwhelming powerful" force to the intensifying military maneuvers by "the U.S. imperialists and the South Korean puppet forces." The reported launch details show Japan, including U.S. military bases in Okinawa, is within striking distance of the cruise missiles if they are fired from the North’s eastern waters, said Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. He added the weapons could reach even the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam if a North Korean submarine can operate farther from its shore.
The tests also were the North’s first known launches of cruise missiles from a submarine. Its previous underwater launches all involved ballistic missiles. It’s also the first time for North Korea to fire multiple missiles from a submarine on a single launch event, observers say. South Korea’s military said the launches were conducted in waters near the North’s port city of Sinpo, the site of a major submarine-building shipyard. Military spokesperson Lee Sung Jun said South Korean assessments didn’t match the launch details North Korea provided but didn’t elaborate.
Experts say Kim, who sees his nuclear arsenal as his best security guarantee, is trying to pressure the United States into accepting the North as a legitimate nuclear power and relax international economic sanctions.
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