Missile Diplomacy

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is known for many things, but subtlety isn’t one of them. To coincide with the launch of U.S.-South Korean joint military drills on Monday local time, North Korean state media released a photo of Kim observing the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles off the deck of a patrol boat. The date of the tests is unknown.

State media reported that the missiles—whose description as “strategic” implies they were developed to carry nuclear warheads—hit their targets without any errors. However, South Korean authorities called the report “an exaggeration”; under United Nations Security Council resolutions, Pyongyang is prohibited from launching ballistic missiles, but cruise missiles are not banned.

The report came shortly after U.S. and South Korean forces met in Seoul to kick off Ulchi Freedom Shield, an 11-day annual military exercise. The event will host computer-simulated command post exercises as well as 30 large-scale field training drills. Not only is this the largest number of field training events ever held in the summit’s history, but it is also the largest joint exercise in number of troops. Kim has long objected to such drills, calling them a rehearsal for nuclear war.

Both U.S. and South Korean officials expressed the importance of Ulchi Freedom Shield in combating Pyongyang’s threats. Specifically, they hope to create contingency plans for North Korean cyber warfare, terrorism, drone strikes, and state disinformation campaigns. Even South Korea’s general population will engage in a civilian drill on Wednesday to practice responding to a foreign invasion. “True peace is preserved only by overwhelming force, not by one-sided begging or goodwill,” said South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.

Last Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David to discuss increasing trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, including against North Korean threats.