North Korea said it fired two cruise missiles from a submarine and issued a new threat to “mercilessly punish” the U.S. as it starts large-scale military drills with South Korea that have stoked Pyongyang’s anger.
Kim Jong Un’s regime said it fired two strategic cruise missiles Sunday from a submarine off the east of the peninsula that flew on figure-8 paths for about 930 miles before striking a target. The so-called underwater launching drill verified a North Korean “nuclear war deterrence means” ahead of the joint drills, its official Korean Central News Agency said Monday.
While North Korea is not barred by United Nations resolutions from cruise missile tests, the launch from a submarine of the rockets would mark a new step in the state’s ability to potentially deliver a nuclear weapon that could hit U.S. bases in South Korea and Japan.
