愛污传媒

Skip to main content

North Korea conducts artillery firing drills in likely response to South Korea-U.S. military training

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, visits a western operational training base in North Korea Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (Korea News Service via AP) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, visits a western operational training base in North Korea Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (Korea News Service via AP)
Share

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised artillery firing drills aimed at boosting combat readiness, state media reported Friday, days after his country vowed to take corresponding military steps against the ongoing South Korean-U.S military trainin g that it regards as an invasion rehearsal.

Thursday's drills involved frontline artillery units, whose weapons place Seoul, the South Korean capital, in their striking range, the North鈥檚 official Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim said artillery units must 鈥渢ake the initiative with merciless and rapid strikes at the moment of their entry into an actual war,鈥 KCNA said.

North Korea's forward-deployed long-range artillery guns pose a serious security threat to Seoul, a city with 10 million people which is about 40 to 50 kilometres (25 to 30 miles) from the border with North Korea.

North Korea's Defense Ministry said Tuesday it would conduct unspecified 鈥漴esponsible military activities鈥 in response to the annual South Korea-U.S. military drills that are to end on March 14. Kim visited a western operational training ground on Wednesday and called for stronger war fighting capabilities.

The South Korean-U.S. drills began on Monday and involve a computer-simulated command post training and 48 kinds of field exercises, twice the number conducted last year.

North Korea views South Korea-U.S. military exercises as a major security threat, calling them a preparation to launch attacks on the North. Seoul and Washington officials have said their drills are defensive in nature.

North Korea has sharply accelerated its missile testing activities since 2022 in part of efforts to develop more powerful nuclear-capable weapons targeting the U.S. mainland and South Korea. The South Korean and U.S. militaries have expanded their drills in response.

Experts say North Korea likely aims to use a modernized arsenal to win sanctions relief from the United States when diplomacy restarts. They say North Korea could increase its weapons tests and dial up warlike rhetoric this year as the United States and South Korea hold major elections. 

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

BREAKING

BREAKING

Incumbent B.C. Premier David Eby鈥檚 NDP appears poised to win the province鈥檚 nail-biting 2024 election 鈥 and could potentially retain the party鈥檚 majority, by the narrowest of margins.

A group of Cape Breton firefighters are apologizing after four people showed up at a Halloween dance dressed in what appeared to be Ku Klux Klan costumes.

Marred by several delays, the trial of alleged human traffickers Lauriston and Amber Maloney finally got underway on Monday in a Bradford courtroom, with a woman who worked and lived with the couple testifying.

Local Spotlight

Epcor says it has removed more than 20,000 goldfish from an Edmonton stormwater pond.

Witches and warlocks have been flocking to New Brunswick waterways this month, as a new Halloween tradition ripples across the province.

New Brunswicker Jillea Godin鈥檚 elaborate cosplay pieces attract thousands to her online accounts, as well as requests from celebrities for their own pieces.

A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.