A day before the United States of America and South Korea began joint military drills, North Korea escalated tensions by conducting submarine-launched cruise missile tests.
North Korea's state news agency said on 13 March 2023 that the tests showed the country's resolve to respond with “overwhelming powerful force” to intensifying military manoeuvres by “US imperialists and South Korean puppet forces".
Kim Jong Un's administration claimed that the missiles flew for more than two hours on 12 March, drawing figure-eight-shaped patterns in waters off the country's eastern coast, and hit targets 1,500 kilometers away.
After a record number of missile tests last year, North Korea has carried out several additional rounds since Jan. 1. Before Sunday's launches, the country also test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile potentially capable of reaching the mainland U.S.; short-range, nuclear-capable missiles designed to hit South Korea; and other weapons.
Experts say Kim, who sees his nuclear arsenal as his best security guarantee, is trying to pressure the United States into accepting the North as a legitimate nuclear power and relax international economic sanctions.
(With agency inputs)
Also Watch: North Korea confirms ICBM test, warns of more powerful steps