N. KOREA REPORTS NUCLEAR OPERATION DRILLS

[Anchor Lead]

North Korea has announced that its tactical nuclear operation units carried out drills from September 25 to October 9. It also revealed that during the drills, some 150 fighter jets were mobilized to stage a massive offensive exercise.

[Pkg]

Dozens of North Korean warplanes fly in formation. North Korea announced it simultaneously mobilized some 150 fighter jets and conducted a comprehensive offensive drill on Saturday. The North says its the first such mobilization. Deploying 150 fighter jets is quite unprecedented. As observers say the regime doesn't possess a large number of deployable fighter jets, it seems trainer jets and other types of military planes were included in the mobilized squad. A new aerial weapons system was also tested during the exercise. It is viewed as a counter-response to a joint air-to-ground precision bombing drill conducted by South Korea and the U.S. last Wednesday.

[Soundbite] (N. Korean Central TV) : "By division and regiment, pilots assessed capabilities to strike ground targets and carry out aerial combats while re-testing different strike scales, procedures, methods and tactics."

The South Korean military responded with overwhelming military power by mobilizing the latest F-35A stealth fighter jets. The military said it didn't reveal the North's drill, as North Korean planes did not breach the special reconnaissance line near the inter-Korean border. 12 fighter jets that flew by last Thursday did. Meanwhile, North Korean state media said seven missile launches conducted over the last 15 days were part of simulated military exercises by tactical nuclear units. Pyongyang made clear its determination to use nuclear power in offensive strikes, stressing rapidness and precision in operations. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the drills. He left open the possibility of more provocations, dismissing the need to talk with what he called the enemy.