After the US-South Korean military drills are over, North Korea launches cruise missiles into the sea

North Korea launched several cruise missiles into the sea Saturday, South Korea’s military said, extending its weapons testing activities in response to the United States-South Korea summer military drills.

South Korea’s military detected the launches early Saturday morning off the North’s west coast, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The statement said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities were analyzing the details of the launches. It said South Korea has boosted its surveillance posture and maintains a firm military readiness in close coordination with the United States.

The launches took place two days after the troops of the United States and South Korea finished an 11-day training exercise that North Korea views as a drill for an invasion.

Officials in both Washington and Seoul insist that their drills are defensive. North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea one day before the U.S.-South Korean military exercise came to a close.

claiming the launch was intended to practice “scorched earth” nuclear attacks on South Korea. In a separate exercise, the North claimed to be simulating the occupation of South Korea’s land in the event of war.

The North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to the country’s state media, saw cruise missile launches on August 21, the first day of the US-South Korean maneuvers.

North Korea announced it will make a third attempt in October after its second attempt to launch a military surveillance satellite into orbit failed on August 24. More than 100 weapons tests have been conducted by North Korea since the year 2022, many of which have involved ballistic launches, which are prohibited by resolutions of the UN Security Council.

Although North Korea is permitted to conduct cruise missile tests, doing so still puts its adversaries at risk because these weapons are built to fly at low altitudes and avoid radar detection. In the event of war, analysts claim that the primary objective of North Korean cruise missiles is to attack approaching American warships and aircraft carriers.

The expansion of Kim’s missile and nuclear arsenals, according to foreign analysts, is a pretext for him to gain more negotiating leverage with the United States in the future.

They claim that Kim wants the U.N. membership through gaining international legitimacy as a legitimate nuclear power and lifting the North’s sanctions.