SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised tests of short-range ballistic missile systems that simulated nuclear counterstrikes against U.S. and South Korean forces, state media said Friday, as the North continued to blame its rivals for escalating tensions through their joint military exercises.
The report came a day after South Korea's military detected multiple launches from North Korea's eastern coast and assessed that the tests could also be related to the country's weapons exports to Russia during its war in Ukraine.
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday's tests involved a mobile ballistic missile system apparently modeled after Russia's Iskander, as well as 600-millimeter multiple rocket launchers that South Korean officials classify as ballistic due to their self-propulsion and guided flight. Both are part of a growing lineup of weapons systems that the North says could be armed with ''tactical'' nuclear weapons for battlefield use.
KCNA said the tests were intended to train military units operating missile and rocket systems to more effectively execute attacks under the North's nuclear weapons control system and ensure a swift response to a nuclear crisis.
The agency criticized the United States and its ''vassal states'' for expanding joint military exercises on and around the Korean Peninsula, which the North claims are preparations for nuclear war, and said Thursday's launches demonstrated the ''rapid counteraction posture'' of its forces.
Kim stressed the need to strengthen the role of his nuclear forces in both deterring and fighting war, and called for continued efforts to improve combat readiness and precision strike capabilities, KCNA said.
Kim Inae, spokesperson for South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, described the latest North Korean launches as a ''clear act of provocation'' that violates UN Security Council resolutions and poses a serious threat to peace and stability in the region.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said multiple missiles of various types were launched from the area around the eastern port city of Wonsan on Thursday from about 8:10 to 9:20 a.m., with the farthest traveling about 800 kilometers (497 miles).
