North Korea Tests Nuclear-Capable Rocket Launchers Amid U.S.–South Korea Military Drills

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — North Korea tested nuclear-capable multiple rocket launchers on Saturday, state media reported, a day after South Korea detected the launch of around 10 ballistic missiles into waters off the Korean Peninsula.

According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, the test involved 12 ultra-precision 600mm-calibre multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies. The launch was overseen by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

KCNA said the rockets struck an island target in the East Sea of Korea—also known as the Sea of Japan—located more than 360 kilometers from the launch site.

Kim said the drill was intended to demonstrate the capabilities of the system to adversaries within its roughly 420-kilometer striking range, warning it would give them a sense of “uneasiness” and a “deep understanding of the destructive power of tactical nuclear weapon.”

The leader described the multiple rocket launcher system as a “very deadly yet attractive weapon,” according to the report.

Photographs released by North Korean media showed several rockets launching from large mobile vehicles. One image also showed Kim observing the test alongside his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, and senior military officials.

Ju Ae has increasingly appeared at high-profile military events in recent years, fueling speculation among analysts that she could eventually succeed her father.

South Korea’s military said it had detected multiple launches from the North on Saturday toward the East Sea.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectiles were fired from North Korea’s eastern coast, while the presidential office in Seoul condemned the launches as a “provocation that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions” and urged Pyongyang to halt such activities.

The missile launches occurred hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said that U.S. President Donald Trump believes a meeting with Kim Jong Un would be “good.”

Washington has in recent months sought to revive high-level diplomacy with Pyongyang, with officials discussing the possibility of a summit later this year. Such a meeting could take place during Trump’s planned visit to Beijing in late March.

After largely ignoring these overtures, Kim Jong Un recently suggested that relations could improve if Washington accepted Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear-armed state.

The test also came as the United States and South Korea conduct their annual spring military exercise, Freedom Shield.

The drills, which began earlier this month and run through March 19, involve about 18,000 South Korean troops and a range of joint military training activities.

Analysts say the timing of the rocket launches likely reflects Pyongyang’s opposition to the exercises.

Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP that the launch pattern appeared closely aligned with the schedule of the joint drills.

“This suggests the weapons system is being operated as a means of nuclear deterrence and practical demonstration” against the U.S.–South Korea alliance, he said.

Earlier this week, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of Kim Jong Un, warned that the exercises could lead to “unimaginably terrible consequences.”

She also criticized the drills as taking place during “a critical time when global security structure is collapsing rapidly and wars break out in different parts of the world.”

Pyongyang has recently condemned the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran as an “illegal act of aggression,” calling them evidence of what it described as Washington’s “rogue” behavior.

North Korea has also conducted missile launches from its naval destroyer Choe Hyon, claiming it is moving forward with plans to arm its navy with nuclear weapons.