North Korea says Kim Jong Un supervised missile tests

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised tests of short-range ballistic missile systems, which simulated nuclear counterstrikes against US and South Korean forces, state media said on Friday.

The report came a day after South Korea’s military detected multiple launches from North Korea’s eastern coast and assessed the tests could be related to the country’s weapons exports to Russia during its war in Ukraine.

The North has continued to blame its rivals for escalating tensions through their joint military exercises.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Thursday’s tests involved a mobile ballistic missile system modelled after Russia’s Iskander, as well as 600-millimetre multiple rocket launchers which South Korean officials classify as ballistic due to their self-propulsion and guided flight.

Both are part of a growing line-up of weapons systems the North says could be armed with “tactical” nuclear weapons for battlefield use.

KCNA said the tests were intended to train military units operating missile and rocket systems to more effectively execute attacks under the North’s nuclear weapons control system and ensure a swift response to a nuclear crisis.

The agency criticised the US and its “vassal states” for expanding joint military exercises on and around the Korean Peninsula, which the North claims are preparations for nuclear war, and said Thursday’s launches demonstrated the “rapid counteraction posture” of its forces.

Mr Kim stressed the need to strengthen the role of his nuclear forces in both deterring and fighting war and called for continued efforts to improve combat readiness and precision strike capabilities, KCNA said.

Kim Inae, spokesperson for South Korea’s Unification Ministry which handles inter-Korean affairs, described the latest launches as a “clear act of provocation” in violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a serious threat to peace and stability in the region.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said multiple missiles of various types were launched from the area around the eastern port city of Wonsan on Thursday, with the farthest travelling about 497 miles.

Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs, said in a briefing the North Korean launches were possibly intended to test the performance of weapons it plans to export, as the country continues to send military equipment and troops to fuel Russia’s warfighting against Ukraine.

Japanese defence minister Gen Nakatani told reporters that none of the North Korean missiles reached Japan’s exclusive economic zone and there was no damage to vessels or aircraft in the area.

It was the North’s first known ballistic activity since March 10, when it fired several ballistic missiles hours after US and South Korean troops began an annual combined military exercise, and the country’s sixth launch event of the year.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have escalated in recent months as the North Korean leader continues to accelerate the development of his nuclear and missile programme and supply weapons and troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Thursday’s launch came a day after North Korean state media said Mr Kim urged munition workers to boost the production of artillery shells amid his deepening alignment with Moscow.