Make no mistake: When North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, orders the launch of another missile, he’s talking about testing for “tactical nuclear” strikes capable of wiping out a battlefield or a base, not “strategic” nukes for annihilating major cities or regions. Nor does he have in mind “cruise missiles” or other tools of conventional warfare.

Mr. Kim, taking his cue from his de facto ally, Russia’s president, made that point clear on double ten, October 10, the 77^th anniversary of the founding of his ruling Workers Party, of which he is general secretary. He sprinkled the phrase “tactical nuclear warhead” throughout his first public appearance in a month. 

Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency, in an account disseminated in English, said that Mr. Kim had “guided the military drills on the spot” after the Americans “brought the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan task force into the waters off the Korean Peninsula,” first in drills with South Korea and again in anti-submarine drills with Japan and South Korea on September 30.

The KCNA dispatch listed all the missile launches with emphasis on their mission of carrying tactical warheads — the first time North Korea had emphasized the need to test missiles for the specific purpose of waging nuclear war rather than simply for accuracy and distance. 

Mr. Kim, KCNA reported, had personally supervised a “ballistic missile launching drill under the simulation of loading tactical nuclear warheads at a silo under a reservoir in the northwestern part of the DPRK” — the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — on September 25.

The drill, KCNA said, “was aimed at confirming the order of taking tactical nuclear warheads out and transporting them and of managing them in a rapid and safe way at the time of operation.” With unusual clarity, KCNA reported “the tactical ballistic missile flied [sic] in the air above the set target” off the east coast, “and the reliability of warhead exploding was clearly proved at the set altitude.” 

On September 28, “simulating the loading of tactical nuclear warheads,” KCNA said, a missile was launched “for the purpose of neutralizing the airports in the operation zones of south [sic] Korea” — a threat against both American and South Korean bases within range. 

Next, various types of “tactical ballistic missiles that were launched on September 29 and October 1 hit the set targets with the combination of air explosion and direct precision and dispersion strike.” 

The North’s Central Military Commission, chaired by Mr. Kim, had sent “more powerful and clear warning to the enemies on October 4” when the North fired a missile over northern Japan. That missile, it said, “hit the sea water area in the Pacific 4,500 kilometers across the Japanese Islands with a new-type ground-to-ground intermediate-range ballistic missile.” 

Finally, KCNA said, “At dawn of October 6, the striking drills of super-large multiple rocket launchers and tactical ballistic missiles for verifying the might of functional warheads were conducted in simulation of striking the enemies’ main military command facilities.”

On October 9, KCNA said, “the drill of the super-large multiple rocket launchers was waged in simulating the strike of the enemies’ main ports.” Mr. Kim “highly appreciated that our nuclear combat forces holding an important mission of war deterrent maintains high alert of rapid and correct operation reaction capabilities and nuclear response posture in unexpected situations at any time.”