S. Korea displays military strength

Live-fire drills at sea meant to show the North its capability.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — With Seoul expecting another North Korean missile test, South Korean warships conducted live-fire exercises at sea on Tuesday — a second straight day of military swagger from a nation still rattled by the North’s biggest-ever nuclear test.

The test on Sunday, which North Korea said was of a hydrogen bomb, was a huge advance in the North’s push for nuclear-tipped missiles capable of hitting the United States. But it also resulted in South Korea boosting its own military capabilities. Washington and Seoul agreed to lift restrictions on South Korean missiles, according to the South Korean presidential office, allowing Seoul to improve its preemptive strike capabilities against the North.

The Korean Peninsula has been in a technical state of war since the Korean War ended in an armistice in 1953.

The near-constant unease has worsened in recent months as North Korea has displayed rapid improvement in its weapons capabilities, testing intercontinental ballistic missiles and a string of other missiles meant to target U.S. forces in Asia and the U.S. mainland.

More launches may be coming. The Defense Ministry said Monday that North Korea appeared to be planning a future missile launch, possibly of an ICBM, to show off its claimed ability to target the United States with nuclear weapons.

It was unclear when such a launch might happen, but Saturday is the anniversary of North Korea’s founding, and past launches have coincided with important national dates.

South Korean ships including a 2,500-ton frigate, a 1,000-ton patrol ship and 400-ton guided-missile vessels participated in the drills aimed at retaliating against potential North Korean provocations, the Defense Ministry said.

It plans more naval drills in its southern seas through Saturday. On Monday, Seoul used F-15 fighter jets and land-based ballistic missiles to simulate an attack on North Korea’s nuclear test site to “strongly warn” the North over the recent detonation.

The U.N. Security Council held its second emergency meeting about North Korea in a week on Monday, with U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley saying the North’s actions show that leader Kim Jong Un is “begging for war.”

“Enough is enough. War is never something the United States wants. We don’t want it now. But our country’s patience is not unlimited,” Haley said.

SOUTH KOREA DEFENSE MINISTRY In this photo, South Korea’s Hyunmoo II ballistic missile is fired Monday during an exercise at an undisclosed location in South Korea. South Korean warships have conducted live-fire exercises at sea this week.