NKorea likely fired artillery rounds amid US-SKorea drills

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea appeared to have conducted artillery firing drills on Sunday, South Korea said, days after the United States deployed sophisticated fighter jets to South Korea for joint training.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it detected multiple trajectories presumed to be North Korean artillery on Sunday afternoon. It said South Korea’s military maintained a firm readiness in close coordination with the United States.

South Korea’s presidential office said the suspected launches occurred off the North’s west coast. It said presidential national security director Kim Sung-han reviewed South Korean military readiness and that his office closely monitors possible additional launches by North Korea.

This year, North Korea has carried out an unusually large number of weapons tests, including nuclear-capable missiles that place both the U.S. mainland and its allies including South Korea and Japan with striking distance. Some experts say North Korea attempts to perfect its weapons technology and boost its bargaining chip in future negotiations with the United States to win sanctions relief or security guarantees.

Last week, six U.S. F-35 aircraft from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska arrived in South Korea for their first temporary deployment in South Korea in about 4 ½ years for joint training with South Korean fighter jets.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the jets’ deployment is aimed at demonstrating the allies’ combined defense posture and strong deterrence against potential external aggression while improving the interoperability of the two air forces. A U.S. military statement said the U.S. aircraft planned to operate over South Korea and surrounding waters during the scheduled 10-day training mission.

North Korea typically views joint exercises between U.S. and South Korea as an invasion rehearsal and responds with its own weapons tests. U.S. and South Korean defense officials have repeatedly said they have no intentions of attacking North Korea.

North Korea has said it was forced to develop nuclear weapons to cope with U.S. military threats. Despite its torrid run of missile tests earlier this year, North Korea hasn’t conducted its expected first nuclear bomb test in five years, and Seoul officials said that’s likely because of an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and opposition by China, its last major ally and aid benefactor.

韩国首尔——韩国方面表示，朝鲜似乎在周日进行了火炮射击演习。几天前，美国向韩国部署了先进的战斗机进行联合训练。

韩国联合参谋本部发表声明称，周日下午探测到多条疑似朝鲜炮弹的飞行轨迹。声明还表示，韩国军方与美国密切协调，保持高度戒备状态。

韩国总统府表示，疑似导弹发射发生在朝鲜西海岸附近。总统府称，国家安全保卫室主任金成汉已对韩国军事战备情况进行了评估，其办公室正密切关注朝鲜可能进行的更多导弹发射活动。

今年，朝鲜进行了数量异常庞大的武器试验，其中包括可携带核弹头的导弹，这些导弹的打击范围已覆盖美国本土及其包括韩国和日本在内的盟友。一些专家认为，朝鲜此举意在完善其武器技术，并增强其在未来与美国谈判中的筹码，以期获得制裁解除或安全保障。

上周，来自阿拉斯加艾尔森空军基地的六架美国F-35战斗机抵达韩国，这是它们大约4年半以来首次在韩国进行临时部署，与韩国战斗机进行联合训练。

韩国国防部表示，此次战机部署旨在展示盟国的联合防御态势和对潜在外部侵略的强大威慑力，同时提升两国空军的协同作战能力。美国军方声明称，美军战机计划在为期10天的预定训练任务期间，在韩国及其周边水域进行飞行训练。

朝鲜通常将美韩联合军演视为入侵演习，并以自己的武器试验作为回应。美韩国防官员多次表示，他们无意攻击朝鲜。

朝鲜声称，其发展核武器是迫于美国军事威胁。尽管朝鲜今年早些时候进行了一系列导弹试验，但五年来尚未进行预期的首次核弹试验。首尔官员表示，这很可能是因为新冠疫情持续蔓延以及其最后一个主要盟友和援助国——中国的反对。