North Korea has no intention of giving up its nuclear program

The incident sparked alarm across the region after several short-range ballistic missiles were launched near Pyongyang and flew about 450 kilometers before landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

However, the main purpose of the exercise was to “demonstrate the reliability, superiority, power and various means” of the country’s nuclear forces and the Haekbangasho system which serves as a “clear warning signal to the enemies” of North Korea, according to the Pyongyang Times.

The Haekbangashoe system, meaning “nuclear trigger,” included a troop maneuver in a “counterattack posture” aimed at “significantly strengthening the rapid counterattack capacity of the state’s nuclear forces.”

North Korea launched missiles from at least four launchers that fired one salvo at the island 355 kilometers away, the US Naval Institute reported.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reportedly oversaw the exercise, which came as the US and South Korea began a combined joint exercise at Kunsan Air Base, which began on April 12 and is expected to end on April 26. He reportedly compared the weapon system to “firing with a sniper rifle.”

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff argue that any reports of such accuracy or capabilities of the North’s weapons system are likely exaggerated and that any weapon could be detected and intercepted by the South Korean military.

To combat North Korea, Washington, Tokyo and Seoul have agreed to a real-time missile data exchange system that would allow those countries to monitor Pyongyang’s launches, according to Newsweek.

The US Indo-Pacific Command said the launch “does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or our allies”, emphasizing instead the “destabilizing impact of the DPRK’s illegal weapons programme”.

Local media accused America and South Korea of ​​causing “war fever” in the region, which aims to create a confrontation against North Korea and is “extremely provocative and aggressive in nature.”

“The event only shows that the UK-USA alliance has supremacy in the air domain and proves our ability to deter, defend and defeat any adversary,” the United States Air Force said in a statement.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that North Korea had launched at least one ballistic missile that flew 245 kilometers at a maximum height of about 50 kilometers. He also said that the missile tests threaten the peace and security of Japan, the region and the international community.

North Korea declared itself a nuclear-weapon state in 2022 and adopted a doctrine that authorizes the military to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike if the country’s leadership determines the country is threatenedstates the Arms Control Association.

Kim has said he will never give up his nuclear weapons or negotiate any denuclearization, confirming suspicions many experts and leaders have had for years.