SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said military drills by the United States, Japan and South Korea justify North Korea’s nuclear reinforcement, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.
Kim criticised the air drill they conducted after North Korea tested a huge new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile dubbed Hwasong-19 last week, as well as “more than 20” military drills the allies have conducted this year.
Given such threats, North Korea will not be swayed from the path of strengthening its nuclear deterrent, KCNA said.
North Korea’s ICBM launch last week flew higher than any previous North Korean missile, according to the North as well as militaries in South Korea and Japan that tracked its flight deep into space before it fell in the ocean between Japan and Russia.
After the launch, South Korean and U.S. air forces conducted first-ever joint live-fire attack drills that involved the Global Hawk and the Reaper drones, dropping GPS-guided munitions in simulated strikes against enemy targets, South Korea’s air force said.
The ICBM launch last week came shortly after North Korea began sending soldiers to aid Russia’s war in Ukraine, drawing swift condemnation from Washington and its allies in South Korea, Japan and Europe, as well as the United Nations secretary-general.
Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected on Monday the reconstruction of areas that were previously hit with torrential rains and floods near the country’s border with China, KCNA said on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee in SeoulEditing by Chris Reese and Matthew Lewis)
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