North Korea says its recent live-fire drill demonstrated 'huge destructive power'

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Monday it conducted a joint live-fire drill involving missiles, artillery and drones that it claimed demonstrated “huge destructive power."

The test included firing different types of weapons simultaneously, likely aiming at developing the ability to overwhelm South Korean and U.S. air defenses.

Experts say North Korea is not slowing its testing activities even after U.S. President Donald Trump recently scaled back a military exercise with South Korea in an apparent effort to revive diplomacy with leader Kim Jong Un.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday's drill was meant to practice the operations of an integrated weapons control system. South Korea’s military earlier said it detected short-range ballistic missile launches from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area on Saturday morning.

After observing the firing drill, North Korean Marshal Pak Jong Chon said the drill would “improve the level of specialization to bring down the enemy’s armed forces organizationally and structurally once an order is issued.” He added that the weapons systems mobilized demonstrated “the huge destructive power of concentrated fire,” according to KCNA.

It’s extremely difficult to independently verify North Korean claims on its weapons tests. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said several missiles fired Saturday each flew about 250 kilometers (155 miles) toward North Korea’s eastern waters. The flight distances signal that the weapons are designed to strike targets in South Korea including U.S. military bases.

The firing drill, which included North Korea’s first public ballistic missile launches in about three weeks, came a day after the United States, South Korea and Japan wrapped up a trilateral military exercise that North Korea views as a provocation.

In August, Trump ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” a major bilateral military exercise with South Korea, citing what he called a good relationship with Kim. But North Korea rebuffed Trump’s overture, saying that shortening the drill didn't change its “provocative, aggressive nature.” The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise eventually ended six days earlier than originally scheduled.

Buoyed by his advancing nuclear arsenal and deepened ties with Russia and China, experts say Kim likely thinks he has greater leverage in possible diplomacy with the U.S. than when he first met Trump in 2018-2019.

Kim said earlier this year that he could return to talks if the U.S. drops its “hostile policy” against his country and respects what he calls the North’s status as a nuclear state.

A TV screen shows a file photo of a North Korean missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian drone struck a train near the Ukraine- Poland border on Sunday shortly after senior visiting officials — including the former prime ministers of the U.K. and Sweden -- passed through, Ukraine’s state rail operator said.

According to Ukrzaliznytsia, a diplomatic train carrying Boris Johnson, Carl Bildt and security advisers from several European Union states had purposely left the station at Yahodyn ahead of schedule. The visitors were on their way back from a security conference in Kyiv.

“It is highly probable that the Russian drone ’s intended target was in fact the diplomatic train, which had departed the station earlier than scheduled,” the company said in a Telegram post.

Bildt, the former Swedish PM, shared a video on X of the attack at Yahodyn station, near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing with Poland.

“This wasn't our train, but the one just minutes after us by the Polish border crossing,” Bildt said. “It was evacuated as the Russian drone approached and no one was hurt. Very good safety system. Our train just had an evacuation warning.”

Bildt, Johnson and fellow passengers had been in Kyiv for the Yalta European Strategy conference, which is an annual gathering of leaders and experts across politics, business, security and media.

Another train, with former CIA Director David Petraeus on board, was still at Yahodyn station when the drone struck, according to Ukrzaliznytsia.

There were no immediate reports of casualties on any of the trains.

Ukrzaliznytsia said it “constantly adjusts train schedules” to guard against strikes.

“I don’t know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning,” Johnson wrote in a post on X.

“What we can say for sure is that this is the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day — even on civilian railways,” he added.

Earlier on Sunday, a Russian drone hit a truck less than a mile from Polish territory, according to border guards, forcing the temporary closure of the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing.

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Ukrzaliznytsia Railway Company Press Office, a locomotive damaged in a Russian drone attack is seen at Yahodyn railway station near Ukraine's border with Poland, Ukraine, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Ukrzaliznytsia Railway Company Press Office via AP)