<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">North Korea says its recent barrage of missile launches were a "simulation" of a nuclear attack on the South.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It comes as intelligence suggests North Korea is preparing to hold its first nuclear weapon test in five years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In recent weeks, Pyongyang has launched seven sets of missiles in response to recent US and South Korea drills.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Monday, state media published extensive reports claiming the missiles were designed to carry tactical nuclear weapons.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These are small short-range weapons intended for use on the battlefield. They said the military practised loading the missiles with dummy versions of these miniaturised warheads.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They also claimed to have successfully simulated hitting South Korea's military bases, ports and airports, and said the launches were a warning to US and South Korea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">State news agency KNCA ran photos of leader Kim Jong-un overseeing and "guiding" the tests.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said North Korea has nothing to gain from using nuclear weapons.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"North Korea is advancing its nuclear development and threatening not only the Republic of Korea but the world," he said, referring to South Korea by its official name.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I believe it has nothing to gain from nuclear weapons."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">US and South Korea intelligence officials have been suggesting that the North may soon test a nuclear weapon for the first time since 2017.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Experts believe it could also use the opportunity to detonate a smaller tactical device for the first time - the sort which would fit into the missiles it has been testing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last month Kim Jong-un declared North Korea an "irreversible" nuclear power and revised its laws, allowing it to use nuclear weapons pre-emptively. Its previous policy had been to only use such weapons in response to an attack.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It has also markedly stepped up its frequency of missile firings this year, carrying out over 40 missile launches this year so far - its most ever.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most of the launches in the past fortnight have been short-range missiles, which landed in the sea between North Korea and Japan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But North Korea also fired a longer-distance missile over Japan last Tuesday - which analysts say is a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, based on the weapon's design.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This year has seen the North test-fire missiles from a variety of launch sites including trains and convoys - moving platforms which would make it harder for the weapons to be destroyed in a strike, analysts have suggested.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They also noted that Monday's state media reports framed the recent launches as "tactical nuclear operations units" - instead of describing them purely as missile tests - suggesting that North Korea has now developed a system for deploying smaller, short-range nuclear weapons.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 25 September-October 9 barrage were a response to the US deploying its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the USS Ronald Reagan to waters around the Korean peninsula, and holding joint drills with Seoul and Tokyo.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The acceleration marks a significant change from when Pyongyang pursued denuclearisation talks with then US President Donald Trump between 2018 and 2019.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Analysts say North Korea is also reacting in response to South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was elected in May and has pursued a more hawkish stance to the North and closer ties with the US.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b>North Korea's recent launches</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b>Sunday 25 September:</b> A short-range missile fired the day after a US naval carrier arrived in waters around the Korean peninsula. 600km distance/60km altitude</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b>Wednesday 28 September:</b> Two short-range missiles fired on the eve of US Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to Seoul and the DMZ. 360km distance/30km altitude</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b>Thursday 29 September:</b> Two short-range missiles after Harris departed South Korea. 300km distance/50km altitude</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b>Saturday 1 October:</b> Two short-range missiles fired amid continuing US-South Korea-Japan drills. 400km distance/50km altitude</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b>Tuesday 4 October: </b>An intermediate-range ballistic missile fired over Japan. 4,500km distance/2,800km altitude</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b>Thursday 6 October: </b>Two short-range missiles fired. 800km distance/50km altitude</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b>Sunday 9 October:</b> Two more short-range missiles. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>