North Korea Sends Warning to US Ally With Missile ‘Show of Force’

North Korea said its forces launched 18 rockets off its east coast in a “show of force” to U.S. treaty ally South Korea that demonstrated the regime’s willingness to strike first when threatened.

The military exercise on May 30, involving 600-millimeter “super-large” multiple rocket artillery units, was confirmed on Friday by the Rodong Sinmun, the official mouthpiece of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party.

Photographs showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observing the demonstration from a runway, thought to be in Pyongyang’s Sunan area, with the report saying the missiles “accurately hit an island target” 226 miles away. Footage released by state broadcaster KCTV showed the same.

Rodong Sinmun suggested it was a response to recent American-led air drills with South Korea near the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, which the North said was “a hideous act” that could “never be overlooked.”

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North Korea has released footage showing the recent “show-of-force,” which involved a salvo launch of 18 missiles from KN-25s. pic.twitter.com/WskBA6epoB

— Global: Military-Info (@Global_Mil_Info) May 31, 2024

At least 10 of the projectiles were detected on Thursday by the militaries of South Korea as well as neighboring Japan, in a move the state-owned newspaper said showed the North’s resolve to guarantee its security through a “preemptive strike.”

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim as saying the rocket launch “will serve as an occasion in clearly showing what consequences our rivals will face if they provoke us.”

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North Korea first tested its “super-large” rockets in 2019. Leaders in Seoul and Tokyo describe them as short-range ballistic missiles, one of which reached an altitude of 62 miles and flew for 217 miles before splashing down in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, according to an official Japanese assessment.

Pyongyang has repeatedly warned it would retaliate against U.S.-led war games near its border, part of spiraling tensions on the Korean Peninsula that revolve around Kim’s missile tests, which experts say are a cover for activities prohibited by the U.N. Security Council.

North Korea’s failed satellite launch on Monday also used banned ballistic technology, Washington says.

“The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s May 27 and May 29 launches using ballistic missile technology in direct violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement on Thursday.

“The DPRK’s actions will only intensify its isolation as it undermines stability and security on the Korean Peninsula,” Miller said. “We condemn the DPRK regime’s decision to divert scarce resources away from the North Korean people toward its weapons programs.”

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The U.S. also slammed North Korea earlier this week for sending hundreds of trash-carrying balloons across its border into the South, in some instances dropping bags of excrement.

After the abortive satellite launch, Kim told his country’s top missile scientists: “For the present, it would be practical and indispensable for us to have communications satellites, weather satellites or Earth resources satellites.”

“However, we have defined our priority target as possessing reconnaissance satellites, and are stepping up efforts to this end. It is because this is a pressing task that has a direct bearing on our state’s security,” he said.