North Korea tests missiles as US reportedly moves arms to Mideast

Kim Jong Un, with his daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, inspects test-firing of ballistic missiles from an undisclosed location in North Korea (file image)

• North Korea test-fired cruise missiles from its new warship.
• Kim Jong Un oversaw a launch hitting targets off the west coast.
• US shifts air defense assets from South Korea to the Middle East.

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North Korea test-fired cruise missiles from its latest warship, the second time in a week it has launched its new sea-to-surface weapons system as reports grow that the US is shifting air defense assets out of South Korea to help it fight Iran.

Kim Jong Un oversaw the test on TV, accompanied by his daughter, Ju Ae, on Tuesday, a photo released by state media showed.

“Important successes have been recently made in putting the strategic and tactical strike means on a practical basis and deploying them for an actual war,” Kim was quoted as saying by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The cruise missiles were launched simultaneously from the North’s flagship destroyer Choe Hyon and hit multiple island targets off North Korea’s west coast, KCNA said.

Read more: North Korea Restores Damaged Warship, Plans Two More Next Year

The back-to-back tests of the new weapons system come as the US reportedly transfers military assets, including Patriot batteries and parts of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, to the Middle East, raising concerns over a weakened deterrence against nuclear-armed North Korea.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung confirmed Tuesday that Seoul opposed the US moving its air defense assets off the Korean peninsula but said Seoul could not prevent Washington from repositioning its weapons as its own military requires.

“Regardless of whether some US Forces Korea assets are being redeployed overseas, there is absolutely no issue with our deterrence against North Korea, given our military capability, the level of our defense spending, defense industry capacity and the high morale of our service members,” South Korea’s Defense Ministry said in a statement to Bloomberg News.

Multiple launchers of the THAAD air defense system were spotted moving out of the Seongju base last week, South Korean broadcaster SBS reported, citing CCTV footage taken near the base. The Washington Post also reported earlier that the Pentagon is moving parts of the THAAD system from South Korea to the Middle East.

“The security risks are not that high for South Korea if it’s just a couple missile defense batteries that are removed given existing US and South Korean air defenses,” said Andrew Yeo, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “Removing more Patriots or THAAD batteries, however, could create vulnerabilities against a missile attack from North Korea.”

The US stations some 28,500 soldiers and multiple missile defense systems including Patriot missile batteries in South Korea.

North Korea’s latest weapons test also comes as the US and South Korea hold their annual springtime military drills, which Pyongyang has long denounced as a war rehearsal. This year’s exercises feature fewer field training maneuvers than last year, a likely nod to Seoul’s desire to ease tensions with North Korea.

Kim ordered officials to equip larger warships with supersonic weapon systems in the future as he tries to overhaul the country’s navy, which mainly consists of smaller vessels for coastal defense.

The new destroyer was designed to extend the nation’s fire-power in the Yellow Sea to the west and in eastern waters in the direction of Japan.