North Korea says its recent live-fire drill demonstrated 'huge destructive power'

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Monday it conducted a joint live-fire drill involving missiles, artillery and drones that it claimed demonstrated “the huge destructive power of concentration fire.”

The official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday's drill was meant to get familiar with the procedure for the operation of the integrated firepower control system. South Korea’s military earlier said it detected short-range ballistic missile launches from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area on Saturday morning.

After observing the drill, Marshal Pak Jong Chon said the drill would “improve the level of specialization to bring down the enemy’s armed forces organizationally and structurally once an order is issued.” He added the weapons systems mobilized demonstrated “the huge destructive power of concentration fire,” according to KCNA.

It’s extremely difficult to independently verify North Korean claims on its weapons tests. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said several missiles fired Saturday flew about 250 kilometers (155 miles) each in a direction toward North Korea’s eastern waters. The flight distances signal the weapons are designed to strike targets in South Korea.

The firing drill marked North Korea’s first public ballistic missile launches in about three weeks.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump scaled back a major bilateral military drill with South Korea, citing what he called a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. That’s an apparent effort to revive diplomacy between them, but North Korea rebuffed Trump’s overture saying just shortening the drill won’t change its “provocative, aggressive nature.”

Buoyed by his advancing nuclear arsenal and deepened ties with Russia and China, experts say Kim likely thinks he has greater leverage in possible diplomacy with the U.S. than when he first met Trump in 2018-2019.

Kim said earlier this year that he could return to talks if the U.S. drops its “hostile policy” against his country and respects what he calls the North’s status as a nuclear state.