SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided a firing drill of 600mm “super-large” multiple rocket launchers, state media KCNA reported on Friday.
North Korea fired a salvo of at least 10 short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, South Korea’s military said on Thursday, calling it a possible display for would-be buyers, including Russia.
Artillery troops successfully hit the target of an island located about 365 kms (227 miles) away as leader Kim oversaw the demonstration at the launch site, KCNA reported.
Kim also urged readiness by the country’s nuclear force to carry out the mission of war deterrence as well as taking the initiative in case of war, the report added.
“Showers of fire for annihilation” during the drill showed North Korea’s will to defend its sovereignty and react against the enemy, a later KCNA report about the event in English said.
Thursday’s launch using ballistic missile technology was condemned by the U.S. State Department as reckless and violating multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.
A separate column carried by KCNA on Friday criticised the deployment of U.S. RC-135U reconnaissance aircraft from Japan to the Korean peninsula on Wednesday, saying the aircraft and other reconnaissance assets by the South and the U.S. infringed on North Korea’s sovereignty.
South Korean media reported that a U.S. military spy plane flew above the Seoul metropolitan area and waters off the west coast this week, citing flight trackers.
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Chris Reese and Jamie Freed)
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