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Kim Jong-un personally tests North Korea’s ‘nuclear trigger’ (PHOTOS) Kim Jong-un tests North Korea’s ‘nuclear trigger’ (PHOTOS)
(about 2 hours later)
Pyongyang has held a large-scale combined “nuclear counterattack” drill Pyongyang has held a large-scale “counterattack” drill
Pyongyang has carried out a drill designed to test the nuclear forces’ coordination system in a counterattack scenario, the state Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Tuesday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally observed several super-large multiple rocket launchers firing a salvo of missiles towards an island in the Sea of Japan. North Korea has carried out drills that simulate a nuclear counterattack against enemy targets, state media reported on Tuesday. Leader Kim Jong-un personally observed several “super-large” multiple rocket launchers firing a salvo of missiles towards an island in the Sea of Japan.
The exercise was held on Monday and came just days after the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) tested a new “super-large warhead” cruise missile and a new type of anti-aircraft missile, amid ongoing joint US and South Korean air force exercises on the peninsula. The drills were held on Monday and came just days after Pyongyang tested a new “super-large warhead” cruise missile and a new type of anti-aircraft missile. The US and South Korean air forces also continue to hold joint exercises on the peninsula.
The drill’s main purpose was to test for the first time the country’s so-called “nuclear trigger” command and control system, as well as strengthen “prompt counterattack capacity of the state nuclear force”, KCNA wrote. The military units involved in the drill honed the procedures and the order of operations in a hypothetical scenario when North Korea’s highest level nuclear crisis alarm is issued in response to an attack. The main purpose of Pyongyang’s exercise was to test for the first time the country’s so-called “nuclear trigger” command and control system, as well as strengthen “[the] prompt counterattack capacity of the state nuclear force,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) wrote. Military units honed the procedures and the order of operations in a hypothetical scenario in which North Korea’s highest level nuclear crisis alarm is issued in response to an attack.
The salvo of missiles with simulated nuclear warheads “accurately” hit the island target some 352 kilometers away, KCNA stated, adding that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed “great satisfaction” with the results of the exercise. The salvo of missiles with simulated nuclear warheads “accurately” hit the island target some 352km away, KCNA stated. North Korean leader Kim expressed “great satisfaction” with the results of the exercise, it added. 
The US, South Korea and Japan all condemned the launches as a threat to regional and international peace and security. The issue will be “on the agenda” when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to Beijing this week, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told the press on Monday. The US, South Korea, and Japan have all condemned the launches as a threat to regional and international peace and security. The issue will be “on the agenda” when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to China this week, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told the press on Monday.
Pyongyang has meanwhile dubbed the drills a “clear warning signal” to its “enemies,” accusing them of running a “military confrontation racket” operation. The joint US and South Korean air force exercises, set to run until April 26, have run a hundred sorties per day on average, while not even trying to conceal its “extremely provocative and aggressive nature,” KCNA claimed. Pyongyang has dubbed the drills a “clear warning signal” to its “enemies,” accusing them of running a “military confrontation racket.” Joint US and South Korean air force exercises, set to continue until April 26, have run a hundred sorties per day on average, while not even trying to conceal their “extremely provocative and aggressive nature,” KCNA claimed.