MADRID, 12 (EUROPA PRESS)
North Korea has launched two missiles from a submarine this weekend from waters near the North Korean city of Sinpo, in the northeast of the country, according to reports in the North Korean press.
North Korea has confirmed the launch of “strategic cruise missiles” from the ‘8.24 Yongung’ submarine in a mock launch, according to the official news agency, KCNA.
The projectiles would have traveled a distance of 1,500 kilometers and have flown for 125 minutes until they hit the targets “with precision”, located in the Sea of Japan. “The drill confirmed the reliability of the weapons system,” says the note from the KCNA agency.
The launch would be a response to the start Monday of the Freedom Shield joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States.
Precisely the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the South Korean Armed Forces has confirmed at least one launch, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
“Our forces are reinforcing their vigilance and maintaining their full readiness in close cooperation with the United States,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff explained in a statement to the press.
The US and South Korean exercises will take place over eleven days, until March 23. These are the longest maneuvers ever carried out by both countries. With these moves, the two countries seek to send a message to North Korea as it threatens to develop its nuclear program.
North Korea has criticized these maneuvers and has announced “important, practical” measures for the “offensive use” of deterrent war assets. South Korean media take it for granted that there will be North Korean military tests coinciding with the joint exercises with the United States.