North Korea’s Kim watches cruise missile launches as US, South Korean troops begin annual drills

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean media say leader Kim Jong Un observed the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles as the U.S. and South Korean militaries kicked off major annual drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal. The North’s report on missile tests came three days after the leaders of the U.S., South Korea and Japan agreed at a summit to increase their cooperation on their ballistic missile defenses. The North’s state media said Monday that Kim boarded a patrol ship to review its weapons and preparations for combat. It said Kim later watched the ship’s seamen conduct a drill of launching “strategic” cruise missiles, a word implying the weapons were developed to carry nuclear warheads.