North Korea says it tested new missiles as US-South Korea drills end

The official Korean Central News Agency said leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the tests and called the missiles ‘another major defence weapons system’.

A South Korean army K1E1 tank crosses a floating bridge on the Imjin River during a joint river-crossing exercise between South Korea and the United States (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

North Korea said it has test-launched new anti-aircraft missiles as its military threatened unspecified grave steps against the US and South Korea over joint military drills it views as an invasion rehearsal.

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the tests on Thursday and called the missiles involved “another major defence weapons system” for North Korea.

The missile launches, North Korea’s sixth weapons testing activity this year, occurred on the same day that the US and South Korean militaries concluded their annual Freedom Shield command post exercise.

The 11-day training was the allies’ first major joint military exercises since the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January.

The two countries held diverse field training exercises alongside the Freedom Shield drills.

US Army soldiers cross a floating bridge on the Imjin River during a joint river-crossing exercise between South Korea and the United States as a part of the Freedom Shield military exercise in Yeoncheon, South Korea (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

US and South Korean officials describe their combined military drills as defensive in nature, but North Korea slams them as a major security threat.

Hours after this year’s Freedom Shield training began on March 10, North Korea fired several ballistic missiles into the sea.

On Friday, North Korea’s Defence Ministry alleged the recent US-South Korean drills involved simulations to destroy underground tunnels in the North to remove its nuclear weapons.

An unidentified ministry spokesperson said the US and South Korea would face consequences if they performed similar provocative actions again.

“The accumulated reckless military moves of the US and the ROK (Republic of Korea), seized with the daydream that they can jeopardise the sovereignty and security of a nuclear weapons state, can undoubtedly bring the gravest consequences they do not want,” the spokesperson said in a statement carried in KCNA.

North Korea often issues warlike rhetoric and threats of attacks when the US and South Korean militaries conduct big drills.

Mr Trump has said he is willing to reach out to Mr Kim to revive their diplomacy, but North Korea has not made any public responses to his overture.

Many experts say Mr Kim, now preoccupied with his support of Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine, will not likely embrace Mr Trump’s outreach anytime soon, but could seriously consider it when the war ends.

Mr Kim and Mr Trump met three times in 2018-19 to discuss North Korea’s possible nuclear disarmament, but their diplomacy eventually fell apart due to disputes over US-led economic sanctions on North Korea.