North Korea has released images of its recent spate of missile launches, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), as it condemned recent military drills between South Korea and the United States as an “open provocation and dangerous war drill” against which it said it had to respond.
A statement from the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army said North Korea would continue to respond to military exercises by South Korea and the US with “sustained, resolute and overwhelming practical military measures”, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Monday.
North Korea fired multiple missiles last week, including a possible failed ICBM, cruise missiles and hundreds of artillery shells, as its southern neighbour and the US conducted their Vigilant Storm air drills, which were extended from five days to six in response to Pyongyang’s tests.
The North Korean military said the exercises were an “open provocation aimed at intentionally escalating the tension” and “a dangerous war drill of very high aggressive nature,” according to the KCNA report.
Hundreds of US and South Korean warplanes, including B-1B bombers, took part in Vigilant Storm.
It was the first time B-1Bs have flown to the Korean peninsula since December 2017.
