North Korea says Kim supervised drills simulating preemptive attacks on South Korea

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un supervised firing drills involving nuclear-capable, multiple rocket launchers to show the country’s ability to carry out preemptive attacks on rival South Korea. The exercises appeared to be the ballistic missile launches that South Korea detected Thursday. Experts say North Korea’s large-sized artillery rockets blur the boundaries between artillery systems and short-range ballistic missiles because they can create their own thrust and are guided during delivery. State media Friday cited Kim as saying the drills would show “what consequences our rivals will face if they provoke us.” Photos showed Kim watching from a distance as at least 18 projectiles were launched.