The North’s announcement came two days after it fired five short-range projectiles into the sea in a continuation of weapon launches it has carried out in apparent response to ongoing South Korea-U.S. military drills it sees as a provocation.
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According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the launch was “the final test-fire” of North Korea’s multiple rocket system ahead of its deployment for real combat.
North Korea has denounced the largest ever military drills by the US and South Korea a “thrice-cursed provocation”, which Pyongyang sees as rehearsal for an invasion.
The unit was launched in the southeastern city of Pohang on March 1, and tested during the largest-ever US-South Korea annual drills, which just ended on Friday.
The KN-11 is being developed along with a missile-firing sub along North Korea’s east coast, which is in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
Existing UN sanctions ban North Korea from conducting any ballistic missile test, although short-range launches tend to go unpunished. The South Korean military is attempting to find out exactly what type of missiles were involved in the incident, according to Yonhap.
The North said last week it had conducted a successful simulated test of atmospheric re-entry of a ballistic missile, and would soon test ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has threatened “preemptive” strikes against both countries.
Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Aegis destroyers, equipped with the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor systems, have also been deployed in the Sea of Japan and surrounding waters.
Analysts with the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University say recent satellite images show what appears to be test-tunnel maintenance activity at North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test complex.
The Korea Times, an English-language news site based in the South, has more on China’s calls on the North to not violate United Nations resolutions.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected landing and anti-landing exercises by the country’s army, navy and air force, official state media reported Sunday.
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“It would be a clear misjudgement on the North’s side if the North believes that it can unnerve our government… with such ridiculous threats”, South Korea’s unification ministry, which handles cross-border affairs, said in a statement.
