North Korea Could be Getting Ready to Test Weapons, South Korea Report Indicates

North Korea sent warnings to ships passing near its eastern coast earlier this week, indicating the nation could be preparing to test out weapons, a press report from South Korea indicated.

The warnings were reportedly issued Sunday through Monday, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported, citing anonymous military sources, but so far, no missile launches or other types of weapon testing have occurred.

"Such an advisory is usually issued ahead of missile launches or other weapons tests to warn vessels to stay clear of certain areas expected to be affected," Yonhap reported. "But no actual ballistic missile launches, or artillery firings took place during the period, according to officials at Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff."

The lack of actual tests has led some to speculate other motives for the recent warnings. South Korean newspaper Kukmin Ilbo wrote the warnings could be a part of North Korea's strategy of "psychological warfare."

Shin Jong-woo, secretary general of the Korea Defense and Security Forum in Seoul, said the North has sent maritime warnings in the past without following through on actual testing, Kukmin reported.

Shin said conditions in North Korea have been "made worse by COVID" and the warnings could be part of a strategy to raise military tension and promote unity within the country, according to Kukmin.

North Korea's testing announcements come following warnings by senior North Korean military general Kim Yong Chol's last week of a "huge security crisis" after the U.S. and South Korea decided to move froward with their annual summer military drills.

The U.S. and South Korea regularly conduct military exercises in the summer and spring that consist primarily of defensive, computer-simulated command post training with few personnel present, the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Reuters in a statement. Despite the lack of human presence, the exercises have been an issue for North Korea for years, which refers to them as a "rehearsal for war."

Following the execution of these drills, North Korea did not answer its routine call through the inter-Korean hotlines which had been reactivated on July 28. It has been a priority of South Korean President Moon Jae-in to improve diplomatic ties with his country's northern neighbor as he faces declining support in the last year of his term.

In regard to the decision to move forward with the military exercises, the JCS issued the following:

"The alliance made the decision after comprehensively considering the COVID-19 situation, joint defense posture and ways to support diplomatic efforts to denuclearize and foster lasting peace on the Korean peninsula," the JCS told Reuters said in a statement.