It was indeed Pyongyang's fourth show of force in a week. The ballistic missile launch reported over the weekend by the South Korean military was confirmed Monday, March 20, by the North Korean state agency, KCNA.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un led military exercises for two days "simulating a nuclear counterattack", according to the agency, which specifies that "the missile was equipped with a warhead simulating a nuclear warhead". . Kim expressed his "satisfaction" after the weekend of exercises, according to KCNA.
These test firings take place at a time when Seoul and Washington are conducting their largest joint military exercises for five years. North Korea views all such exercises as rehearsals for an invasion of its territory and has repeatedly warned that it will respond to them in an "overwhelming" manner.
United Front of South Korea and Japan
On Thursday, Pyongyang fired its Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the most powerful in its arsenal, in the presence of leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter, and just before a visit to Japan by the southern president. -Korean, Yoon Suk Yeol. Cold for years due to a historic dispute, the two neighbors have resumed language at the highest level and decided to present a united front against North Korea.
It was Pyongyang's second ICBM test this year, which KCNA said at the time was a response to "frenzied" military exercises by South Korea and the United States. The firing itself came after the launch Tuesday of two short-range ballistic missiles and, on March 12, two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine.
