Pyongyang launches two missiles ahead of major exercises between the United States and South Korea
North Korea fired two cruise missiles from a submarine on March 13.
via REUTERS-KCNA
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Pyongyang launched, on Sunday March 12, two "
strategic
" cruise missiles from a submarine.
This announcement by North Korean state media comes as the largest joint maneuvers in five years between the South Korean and American armies begin on Monday.
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With our correspondent in Seoul,
Nicolas Rocca
Experts expected the tone to rise on the Korean peninsula this week and it has already happened.
On Sunday, North Korea launched two cruise missiles from a submarine off the coastal town of Sinpo, the North Korean news agency KCNA reported on Monday.
Successful shots, according to her.
With this missile test a few hours before the start of the largest military maneuvers in the South for five years, North Korea is doing a double blow.
She tests her abilities and recalls her hostility to the maneuvers of Seoul and Washington.
"
Invariant Position
"
These two “ strategic
” cruise missiles
fired from a submarine off its east coast, made it possible to “
verify the operational posture of the means of nuclear deterrence
”, according to the state agency.
Also according to the North Korean media, this essay expressed the "
invariable position
" of Pyongyang which perceives the American and South Korean military exercises as the repetition of an invasion of its territory or an overthrow of its regime.
"
The American imperialists and the South Korean puppet forces are advancing in a less and less concealed way in their military maneuvers against the DPRK
" [the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, ndlr], estimates KCNA.
On Thursday,
Pyongyang had already fired a short-range ballistic missile
towards the sea off its west coast, according to the South Korean military.
► To read also:
North Korea threatens to turn the Pacific Ocean into a "firing range"
Called “Freedom Shield 2023” (shield of freedom, in French), the maneuvers of Seoul and Washington began this Monday for eleven days.
On the program: around twenty simulations in real conditions in order to improve cooperation between the two armies in the air, on the ground, in the sea, in space and in cyberspace.
The objective is to adapt to the considerable improvement in Pyongyang's military resources, whose desire to continue in this direction in the coming days risks being reinforced by the show of force south of the 38ᵉ parallel.
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