North Korea conducted its first drills simulating a nuclear counterattack under its “nuclear trigger” management system in an exercise overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, state-run media said Tuesday, as Washington and Seoul were set to begin talks on cost-sharing for hosting U.S. troops in South Korea.
The drill, which involved the North’s “super-large multiple rocket units,” was held Monday and was aimed at “substantially strengthening the prompt counterattack capacity of the state nuclear force” under the country’s haekbangashoe — or “nuclear trigger” — combined management system, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
KCNA said the main purpose of the exercise was “to demonstrate the reliability, superiority, might and diverse means of the DPRK's nuclear force and to strengthen the nuclear force both in quality and quantity” and was “a clear warning signal” to its enemies amid joint U.S.-South Korean military drills featuring the allies’ air forces.
South Korea’s military said Monday that the North had fired several ballistic missiles, while Japan also confirmed that at least one of the short-range weapons had been fired into the Sea of Japan. Photos accompanying Tuesday’s KCNA report showed that four missiles were fired from four separate launchers in what the report called a “salvo drill.” Such launches are designed to overwhelm enemies’ missile defenses.
The drill, which involved maneuvering troops into a counterattack posture in the event a nuclear crisis alert is issued, saw troops fire off artillery tipped with mock nuclear warheads, highlighting the North’s diversified nuclear capabilities, the KCNA report said.
“Through the drill, the reliability of the system of command, management, control and operation of the whole nuclear force was reexamined in a many-sided way and the action order and combat methods for making the super-large multiple rocket units rapidly switch over to nuclear counterattack were mastered,” the report said.
Kim praised the exercises, saying that they had shown that his country’s “tactical nuclear strike” capabilities were “the most powerful in the world.”
Japan's top government spokesman hinted that more "provocations" were likely in store in the near future.
"North Korea may continue to launch various types of missiles and other provocations, and we will do our utmost to collect and analyze necessary information in close cooperation with the United States, South Korea and other countries and monitor the situation vigilantly," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a news conference Tuesday.
Pyongyang’s latest round of missile launches came as Washington and Seoul were set to begin negotiations over cost-sharing for hosting some 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea. A first round of talks over the cost-sharing deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), was set to run from Tuesday to Thursday in Hawaii.
The talks come more than a year before the current deal is set to expire, with the two countries looking to forestall friction in the alliance in the event former President Donald Trump is returned to the White House in November’s U.S. presidential election.
The early start to negotiations, which Tokyo will also be watching closely, appears to reflect concerns that Trump could once again drive a hard bargain on the issue of cost-sharing, which could potentially become a major bone of contention between the allies.
Trump reportedly demanded a fivefold increase in Seoul’s SMA contribution, accusing the Asian ally of "free-riding" on U.S. military might. Negotiations ultimately resulted in a mere stopgap yearlong deal.
Linda Specht, a senior advisor with the State Department and the United States’ lead negotiator, said on Monday that Washington would pursue a "fair" and "equitable" outcome at the talks.
"The United States seeks a fair and equitable outcome to the Special Measures Agreement discussions for both countries that will strengthen and sustain the U.S.-ROK alliance," Specht said in a statement.
ROK is the acronym for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
The South Korean delegation is to be led by Lee Tae-woo, a senior diplomat and former consul general in Sydney. The current six-year SMA is set to expire at the end of 2025.
Japan is expected to closely follow the start of SMA talks, since the two U.S. allies would likely find themselves in similar predicaments under a Trump presidency.
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