North Korea vows ‘merciless’ response to military drills by enemies South Korea and US

North Korea’s military said yesterday its recent barrage of missile tests were practices to “mercilessly” strike key South Korean and US targets such as air bases and operation command systems with a variety of missiles that likely included nuclear-capable weapons.

Pyongyang’s announcement underscored leader Kim Jong Un’s determination not to back down in the face of his rivals’ push to expand their military exercises. But some experts say Kim also used their drills as an excuse to modernise his nuclear arsenal and increase his leverage in future dealings with Washington and Seoul.

North Korea fired dozens of missiles and flew warplanes towards the sea last week – triggering evacuation alerts in some South Korean and Japanese areas – in protest of massive US-South Korean air force drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.

US and South Korean officials responded that they would further enhance their joint training events and warned the North that the use of nuclear weapons would result in the end of Kim’s regime.

“The recent corresponding military operations by the Korean People’s Army are a clear answer of (North Korea) that the more persistently the enemies’ provocative military moves continue, the more thoroughly and mercilessly the KPA will counter them,” the general staff of North Korea’s military said in a statement carried by state media.

It said the weapons tests involved ballistic missiles loaded with dispersion warheads and underground infiltration warheads meant to launch strikes on enemy air bases; ground-to-air missiles designed to “annihilate” enemy aircraft at different altitudes and distances; and strategic cruise missiles that fell in international waters about 80km off South Korea’s south-eastern coastal city of Ulsan.

North Korea’s military said it also carried out an important test of a ballistic missile with a special functional warhead missioned with “paralysing the operation command system of the enemy”. This could mean a simulation of electromagnetic pulse attacks, but some observers doubt North Korea has mastered key technologies to obtain such an attack capability.

Pyongyang’s military statement didn’t explicitly mention a reported launch last Thursday of an intercontinental ballistic missile aimed at hitting the US mainland, though its main newspaper published a photo of an ICBM-like weapon as one that was used during last week’s testing activities.

Some experts say many other North Korean missiles launched last week were short-range nuclear-capable weapons that place key military targets in South Korea, including US military bases there, within striking range.

Yesterday, South Korea’s military disputed some of North Korea’s accounts of its missile tests. Spokesperson Kim Jun-rak said South Korea didn’t detect the North’s cruise missile launches and that it’s also notable that North Korea didn’t mention what Seoul assessed as an abnormal flight by an ICBM.

This year’s “Vigilant Storm” air force drills between the US and South Korea were the largest ever for the annual autumn manoeuvres. The drills involved 240 warplanes including advanced F-35 fighter jets.

The allies were initially supposed to run the drills for five days ending last Friday, but extended the training by another day in reaction to the North’s missile tests.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the participation of the B-1Bs in the joint drills demonstrated the allies’ readiness to sternly respond to North Korean provocations and the US commitment to defend its ally with the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear.

In September, North Korea announced a new law authorising the pre-emptive use of its nuclear weapons in a broad range of situations.