KIM Jong-un has fired terrifying cruise missiles in his latest plea for attention – just hours before Donald Trump is set to arrive in South Korea.
Pyongyang said the warship launch was a “deterrence exercise” – and comes days after the US leader proposed a meeting with his North Korean counterpart.
Kim’s regime said the latest operation’s purpose was also to “prepare for nuclear war”.
They also called the test a success and said it would help expand the operational capabilities of the pariah state’s military.
The sea-to-surface cruise missiles were launched from naval destroyers in the West Sea on Tuesday, local media reported.
Authorities from the hermit kingdom said: “The cruise missiles, which were modified for ship-launch, were launched vertically and flew along a set trajectory over the West Sea for about 7,800 seconds, destroying the target.”
It comes as Trump continues to travel across Asia for diplomatic shoulder rubbing – having most recently visited Japan.
He will visit South Korea on Wednesday and is expected to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping there on Thursday.
But the US president has also proposed to meet Kim as he jets across the continent to strike deals and build rapport.
Trump invited Kim to a meeting at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) last weekend – but the despot is yet to respond.
Speaking of a potential second-round meeting with the North Korean leader, the Don said: “If he contacts me, I’d like to do so.”
It comes after Trump famously visited Kim during his first term in an unprecedented 2019 meeting.
Kim’s latest launch saw the lethal weapon fly for just over two hours, according to reports.
Pyongyang claimed the test was part of “war deterrence measures” and part of their efforts to “put nuclear forces to practical use”.
They said: “We must constantly renew our combat power, and in particular, it is our responsible mission and duty to constantly sharpen our nuclear combat readiness.”
It comes after Kim unveiled a “sacred sanctuary” to the hundreds of North Korean troops killed fighting for Vladimir Putin’s bloody war in Ukraine.
The so-called Memorial Museum of Combat Feats will “pray for the immortality of the proud heroes” who “performed undying feats in the overseas military operations”.
Flanked by Russian diplomats and weeping families of the dead, Kim clasped soldiers’ faces in his hands and declared that his “brotherhood” with Moscow would “advance non-stop.”
The chilling show of defiance is proof that Pyongyang’s evil alliance with the Kremlin is tightening even as Russian forces reel under new US sanctions.
