The Japan Times - North Korea conducts test of nuclear-capable multiple rocket launchers

The test comes just days after South Korean and US forces kicked off their springtime military drills.

Kim Jong Un oversaw the test on Saturday, which "involved twelve 600mm-calibre ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies", the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Kim said the drill would give Pyongyang's enemies "within the 420 km striking range" a sense of "uneasiness" as well as "a deep understanding of the destructive power of tactical nuclear weapon", KCNA reported.

KCNA said Sunday that the rockets battered an island target in the East Sea of Korea more than 360 kilometres away.

Kim praised the MLRS as a "very deadly yet attractive weapon".

Photos released by KCNA showed several rockets blasting off large vehicles into the air.

Another picture shows Kim and his daughter Ju Ae watching the launch from afar, flanked by a military official.

Ju Ae has long been seen as next in line to rule the country, a perception stoked by a string of recent high-profile outings.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it had detected multiple launches on Saturday from the North into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

Seoul's presidential Blue House condemned the launches as a "provocation that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions" and urged Pyongyang to immediately stop such acts.

The launches came hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said that US President Donald Trump thinks a meeting with Pyongyang's Kim would be "good".

The Trump administration has pushed in recent months to revive high-level talks with Pyongyang, eyeing a possible summit with Kim this year, potentially during Trump's visit to Beijing set for late March.

After largely ignoring these overtures, Kim said recently that the two nations could "get along" if Washington accepted Pyongyang's nuclear status.

- Joint drills -

The US and South Korea's springtime military drills, dubbed "Freedom Shield", will involve about 18,000 Korean troops and run until March 19.

This week, Kim Yo Jong, a powerful confidante of her brother Kim Jong Un, said the joint drills "may cause unimaginably terrible consequences".

She went on to say the drills were taking place at "a critical time when global security structure is collapsing rapidly and wars break out in different parts of the world".

Pyongyang has condemned the US-Israeli attack on Iran as an "illegal act of aggression", claiming it shows the "rogue" nature of the United States.

North Korea also recently carried out missile tests from the naval Choe Hyon destroyer, claiming the country was in the process of "arming the Navy with nuclear weapons".

K.Inoue--JT