North Korea Test-Fires Strategic Missiles to Demonstrate Nuclear Counterattack Capability

North Korea Test-Fires Strategic Missiles to Demonstrate Nuclear Counterattack Capability

North Korea announced on Friday that it had tested strategic cruise missiles to demonstrate its nuclear counterattack capability. This came shortly after the country declared that it would respond to the ongoing threats and provocations from the United States since the beginning of the Trump administration.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the missile tests off the country's west coast. This was North Korea’s fourth missile launch of 2025 and the second missile test of President Trump’s second term.

According to the North Korean report, the purpose of the missile launch was to warn "enemies" who are violating North Korea’s security environment and escalating the environment of confrontation. Kim stated that the country’s military must be fully prepared to use its nuclear weapons.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff later issued a statement on Friday, saying they had detected and tracked North Korea's missile launches, and that the South Korean military, based on the solid South Korea-US military alliance, was ready to repel any potential provocation.

Since his inauguration on January 20, Trump has mentioned his previous summits with Kim during his first term and expressed a desire to reach out to Kim again. However, North Korea has yet to directly respond to Trump’s overture and continues its aggressive rhetoric and missile testing activities against the US.

Experts say Kim, who is currently preoccupied with supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine through arms and troop supplies, is unlikely to restore relations with Trump anytime soon. However, they suggest that Kim may reconsider if he doubts the sustainability of North Korea-Russia cooperation after the war ends.

Last Saturday, North Korea’s Defense Ministry claimed that the US and its allies have intensified military provocations against North Korea since Trump came to power. This included a recent US-South Korea aerial exercise, which involved a US B-1B bomber. A ministry statement said North Korea would counter the US’s strategic threats with strategic means.

Kim and Trump held three summit meetings between 2018 and 2019 to discuss the future of North Korea’s nuclear program, but their diplomatic efforts derailed due to disagreements over US-led sanctions on North Korea. Since then, Kim has accelerated missile testing to expand and modernize his nuclear arsenal. Experts say that with a larger nuclear arsenal, Kim believes he could gain greater concessions from the US if he revives diplomacy with Trump.