North Korea Conducts Nuclear Strike Drill

June 2025
By Kelsey Davenport

North Korea conducted missile drills simulating a nuclear counterstrike against U.S. and South Korean forces after criticizing the United States for conducting a drill that simulated a North Korean nuclear strike on the U.S. homeland.

The U.S. exercise simulated the interception of an incoming intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It was conducted at Fort Greely, Alaska, during a visit by Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll April 23-24. Fort Greely houses interceptor missiles as part of the U.S. Ground-Based Midcourse (GMD) missile defense system.

Driscoll was briefed on GMD procedures during a “simulated ICBM attack against the United States,” according to a U.S. Army statement. The statement did not specify if the ICBMs in the simulated attack came from North Korea, but the interceptors at Fort Greely likely would be used in the event of North Korea firing nuclear-armed ICBMs at the United States.

A May 3 commentary in North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that the U.S. “interceptor drill simulating the so-called ICBM attack of an enemy state … is, in essence, a military action of an offensive nature that made a nuclear war with [North Korea] a fait accompli.”

The commentary argued that the United States does not need to conduct a drill simulating the interception of a North Korean ICBM if Washington “does not seek a nuclear war” with Pyongyang.

The “best option for deterring the danger of the outbreak of a nuclear war” is to build up the “strongest offensive and defensive power capable of overwhelmingly suppressing any form of military threat posed by the U.S. arms buildup directly aiming at” North Korea, the commentary said.

North Korea used the drill as justification for its May 8 exercises simulating a nuclear counterstrike on U.S. and South Korean forces. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the exercises, which included short-range ballistic missiles capable of delivering tactical nuclear warheads.

According to a May 9 KCNA statement, U.S. and South Korea military exercises require “that the armed forces of [North Korea] maintain a rapid reaction capability and a thoroughgoing war posture.”

The drills were designed to verify the command and mobilization of North Korea’s nuclear missiles.

According to the commentary, Kim said that it is “very important to steadily perfect the normal combat readiness of the nuclear force.” He also called for “further raising the combat reliability of the tactical nuclear weapon systems.”

South Korea’s June 3 presidential election may offer an opportunity for de-escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula. The two candidates, Lee Jae-myung from the Democratic Party and Kim Moon-soo from the People Power Party, both call for a strong South Korean alliance with the United States.

Kim Min-soo called for enhancing South Korea’s role in U.S. extended deterrence and raised the prospect of South Korea developing its own nuclear deterrent.

Lee, however, called for greater cooperation with North Korea and strengthening inter-Korean relations to reduce tensions. He expressed support for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula using a phased approach that reduces military tensions and enhances stability. He also said he would restore an inter-Korean military agreement reached in 2018 that both countries subsequently suspended.

Although North Korea is primarily focused on the threat posed by the United States, it has raised concerns about Japanese military activities, particularly the country’s investment in missile capabilities.

In a May 10 KCNA commentary, North Korea called attention to a missile drill that Japan is preparing for late June and to Japan’s plans to expand its missile force.

Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force’s 1st Artillery Brigade is planning its first long-range missile drill from within Japanese territorial waters. The test will involve firing surface-to-ship training missiles at a target off the coast of the country’s northernmost island.

The drill is for training purposes and reflects the “severe security environment” of the region, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said in April.

KCNA said that Japan’s possession of missiles that are capable of attacking enemy bases in foreign countries demonstrates that the country is not focused on “exclusive defence.”

The missile developments are “proof that Japan’s reckless moves for overseas aggression have become more courageous,” the KCNA commentary said.