North Korea's Nuclear Strike Drill Provokes Tensions Amid US-South Korea Exercises

North Korea conducted a simulated "scorched-earth" nuclear strike on targets in South Korea in response to allied exercises that it claimed were plans for a preemptive nuclear attack by the United States. The state media reports provided detailed descriptions of how North Korea envisions a potential war, including using nuclear weapons to strike the South and then occupying its territory. North Korea also fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, prompting condemnation from South Korea, the United States, and Japan. The launches occurred just before the conclusion of 11 days of joint military drills between South Korea and the U.S., which North Korea has long criticized as a rehearsal for war.