Photo : KCNA / Yonhap News
North Korea said it conducted a hypersonic missile launch drill on Sunday.
The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Monday that hypersonic missiles launched from Ryokpho District in Pyongyang toward the northeast hit designated targets one thousand kilometers away in the East Sea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly observed the drill and said repeatedly demonstrating the readiness and lethality of strategic strike capabilities to adversaries is an important and effective way to exercise war deterrence.
Kim added that such activity is aimed at gradually enhancing nuclear war deterrence, noting that “recent geopolitical crisis and complicated international events” underscore the need for such efforts.
While KCNA did not specify what Kim meant by the “recent geopolitical crisis and complicated international events,” the remarks were seen as referring to recent U.S. military strikes on Venezuela and the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro.
KCNA said the drill was intended to assess the readiness of the hypersonic weapons system, improve the proficiency of missile firing soldiers, and evaluate the sustainability, effectiveness of North Korea’s war deterrence capabilities.