Although the paper didn’t specify when or where the photos were taken, as is custom in North Korea, the Tuesday launches were believed to have been conducted in Hwangju County, North Hwanghae Province.
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North Korea said Wednesday its latest ballistic missile tests trialled detonation devices for possible nuclear strikes on USA targets in South Korea and were personally monitored by supreme leader Kim Jong-Un.
“The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined the missile launches from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America”, a statement from the USA military said.
The council last adopted a statement condemning North Korea for two medium-range missile tests on June 23.
North Korea said Wednesday it test-fired ballistic rockets as part of a simulated pre-emptive attack on ports and airfields in South Korea, in a likely reference to the three missile launches that Seoul says the North carried out a day earlier.
Tuesday’s drill simulated detonating “nuclear warheads mounted on the ballistic rockets at the designated altitude over the target area”, KCNA said.
“Such actions are not conducive to reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula”, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, during a regular briefing.
What is North Korea up to?
Neither the Unification Ministry nor the NIS elaborated on whether South Korea believes the North’s recent broadcasts were meant to send information to agents in the field.
Tuesday’s salvo was widely believed to be North Korea’s answer to the July 8 agreement by the US and South Korea to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, known as THAAD, on the divided peninsula to counter the growing missile threat from the North.
The city of Busan, the biggest South Korean port city located at the bottom of the Korean Peninsula is often considered one of the most strategic locations during times of war, as it would be used for transporting supplies and personnel in wartime.
“But it’s a reminder that they are continuing to pursue nuclear warhead development, and that itself is an escalation of risks for us”, he added.
The missile-defense battery is created to detect and destroy incoming North Korean missiles, but Beijing strongly opposes its deployment in South Korea because the system’s powerful radar can scan not only North Korean but also Chinese territory.
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The US Defense Department said Washington would raise its concerns over the latest launches at the United Nations.
