Missiles from North Korea's Tactical Nuclear Operations Unit are launched at an unknown location. Photo: Reuters
North Korea said it launched a simulated scorched-earth nuclear attack on South Korea and rehearsed an invasion of neighboring Korea, accusing Seoul and Washington of planning their own preventive nuclear attack.
A North Korean missile unit fired two ballistic missiles during a “Nuclear Strike Mission,” the Korean People's Army (KPA) General Staff said in a statement released by the state-run KCNA news agency on Thursday.
South Korean officials estimate and Japanese authorities, the two short-range missiles flew some 360–400 kilometers (225–250 miles) at a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers (30 miles) before landing in the water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
Pyongyang said the missile launches sent a “clear message” to Seoul and Washington. Photo: Reuters
Reports included unusual details of Pyongyang's military strategy, saying that the exercise simulated repulsing a surprise invasion and then launching a nuclear counterattack against key installations in the south, including military headquarters, before breaking in and occupying “the entire territory of the southern half”.< /p>
The KCNA reported, “On Wednesday evening, the KPA conducted a tactical nuclear strike exercise, simulating scorched earth strikes against the main command centers and operational airfields of the ROK [ROK] military gangsters.”
p>Rodong Sinmun published the photos leader Kim Jong-un reviewing battle plans and pointing at a blurred map with a long stick while senior army officers listened to his orders. jpg” />Kim Jong-un at the training center with army officials Photo: Reuters 
North Korean state broadcaster KCNA showed footage of military exercises. Photo: reuters/reuters
Pyongyang said it was sending a “clear signal” to Seoul and Washington, which are about to end the 11-day annual joint military exercise, which included at least one US B-1B strategic bomber flying over the Korean Peninsula .
B-1B bombers can carry a huge amount of conventional weapons. The North describes these aircraft as “nuclear-strategic”, although they were converted to conventional weapons in the 1990s.
A show of force involving a bomber “was no different from revealing to the world that they were moving in the direction this is a pre-planned nuclear pre-emptive strike against us,” North Korea said.The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff called the North Korean exercise a “serious provocation”. Photo: Reuters
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea called the North's exercises “a serious provocation”, saying that they threaten international peace and violate UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting any ballistic launches from Pyongyang.
The US Indo-Pacific Command declared Washington's commitment to the defense of South Korea. and Japan remains “iron”.
The two short-range missiles traveled up to 400 kilometers before landing in the water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Photo: Reuters
Tensions on the peninsula are rising after the failure of denuclearization talks in 2019. The North has conducted more than 100 weapons tests since the beginning of 2022.
On Wednesday, representatives of the new U.S. Space Force command near Seoul said: said the U.S. and South Korean militaries are on track to more thoroughly optimize their tracking systems. and a quick assessment of North Korean missile launches.
In addition, the White House warned North Korea against selling ammunition to Russia for its war. in Ukraine after US intelligence showed the two countries were “actively promoting” high-level arms talks.
Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged letters promising greater cooperation, he said. John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council.
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