South Korea conducts missile drill following North Korea’s missile launch

KATHMANDU: South Korea conducted a ballistic missile launch into the sea on Friday as a show of strength, following North Korea’s recent missile tests.

The North had carried out separate drills over the past two weeks, testing its most advanced and powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and several short-range ballistic missiles.

The South Korean military command stated that the live-fire exercise was aimed at demonstrating a strong resolve to firmly respond to North Korea’s provocations. The Joint Chiefs of Staff emphasized that the drill also showcased South Korea’s ability and readiness to make precise strikes against the source of any provocations.

According to the military command, the exercise involved the launch of a Hyunmoo surface-to-surface short-range missile in the western sea.

South Korea began producing short-range ballistic missiles domestically in the 1970s to address threats from North Korea.

The Hyunmoo missile series forms the core of the country’s so-called “kill chain” preemptive strike system, enabling Seoul to launch a preemptive attack if signs of a North Korean assault emerge.

Earlier in October, South Korea showcased its largest ballistic missile, the Hyunmoo-5, capable of destroying underground bunkers.

In response to North Korea’s ICBM test last Sunday, South Korea, Japan, and the United States held joint air exercises that included American B-1B bombers, South Korean F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets, and Japanese F-2 jets.

Such joint exercises provoke strong reactions from Pyongyang, which views them as rehearsals for an invasion. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister and key spokesperson, Kim Yo Jong, condemned the trilateral drills, calling them “the most hostile and dangerous aggressive act” against her country. She further stated, “This exercise is a full demonstration of the legitimacy and necessity of the nuclear weapons development path we have chosen and implemented.”