UPDATE - North Korea Says Conducted Drills To Improve Nuclear Counterattack Preparedness - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th March, 2023) Pyongyang says it conducted drills simulating a tactical nuclear counterattack over the weekend, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reports citing North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the drills held on Saturday and Sunday, including the launch of a ballistic missile, KCNA said on Monday. The test-firing was conducted to verify the operation of nuclear explosion control devices and detonators.

The daughter of the North Korean leader, Kim Ju Ae also oversaw the drills, according to photos published by the KCNA.

According to KCNA, on March 19, a ballistic missile launch exercise was held that "imitated" a tactical nuclear attack on an enemy target and the missile was equipped with a warhead that "simulated a nuclear one." The missile covered a distance of 800 kilometers (497 miles), and reached an altitude of 800 meters.

Kim Jong Un "stressed the need to let service personnel get familiar with any unexpected circumstances and make them more perfectly prepared in their active posture of making an immediate and overwhelming nuclear counterattack anytime," KCNA said, as quoted by Yonhap.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch of a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) by North Korea from the Tongchang-ri area at 11:05 a.m. (02:05 GMT) on Sunday. The missile flew some 800 kilometers, according to the South Korean military.

The NHK broadcaster reported on Sunday, citing government sources, that the missile launched by North Korea landed outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone.

The Sunday test-firing comes three days after Pyongyang launched a Hwansong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile in response to joint military drills conducted by the United States and South Korea.