Seoul: Answer State media said on Thursday that Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a test of long-range cruise missiles, which he described as his military’s growing nuclear strike capabilities and a successful display of readiness for “real war”.
Wednesday’s tests boosted weapons performance this year by a record number of North Koreawhich has halted its testing activity with threats to retrospectively use it against nuclear weapons south Korea and United States of america If he considers his leadership in danger.
Analysts say that Kim is taking advantage of the distraction created by Russia’s war on Ukraine, using it as a window to accelerate weapons development as he pursues a full nuclear arsenal that could help regional could seriously endanger American allies and the American homeland.
South Korean officials say Kim may conduct a nuclear test in the coming weeks or months, a pressure campaign aimed at forcing the United States to accept North Korea’s idea of a nuclear power. can be extended further, which can negotiate economic and security concessions from a position. might.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said the two missiles flew for about three hours during Wednesday’s tests, drawing an oval and eight-shaped pattern over its western sea, and showed that they could travel 2,000 kilometers (1,240 mi). ) can hit distant targets. The agency said the tests demonstrated the accuracy and combat-fighting efficiency of the weapon system, which has already been deployed in Army units operating “tactical” battlefield nuclear weapons.
Following the tests, Kim praised the readiness of his nuclear warfare forces, which he said were fully prepared for “real war to bring the enemy under his control” with various weapon systems that were “mobile, accurate and powerful”. report good.
He said the tests send “a more clear warning to the enemy” and “to fully prevent and fully initiate any significant military crisis and war crisis at any time” And vowed to expand.
Flight details and characteristics of the missiles described in state media are similar to those reported by North Korea in January after a previous demonstration of its long-range cruise missile system, which first surfaced in September last year.
State media photos from Wednesday’s test showed a missile releasing an orange flame as it exited a launch vehicle.
Kim is seen smiling and clapping from a visual station set up inside an arched structure that appears to be a highway tunnel. Experts say that North Korea may intend to use such a structure to conceal its weapons before launch.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it was analyzing the tests. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the missiles would pose a potential threat to Japan if North Korean details about their range were accurate.
The test was the first known weapons demonstration after North Korea launched 12 ballistic missiles over a two-week period from October 9, which were described as simulated nuclear strikes on South Korean and US targets.
Those weapons included a new intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan demonstrating potential range to reach Guam, a major US military center in the Pacific, and from an unspecified platform inside an inland reservoir. A short-range missile fired.
North Korea said those exercises were intended as a warning to Seoul and Washington to conduct a “dangerous” joint naval exercise involving the nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in recent weeks, aimed at allies. There was strength to be shown on his face. About the growing threats to North Korea.
Concerns about the expansion of Kim’s nuclear arsenal have grown since his rubber-stamp parliament last month passed a new law authorizing the retrospective use of nuclear weapons in a wide range of scenarios, including non-combat situations , where it may feel its leadership is in danger.
South Korea’s military has since warned North Korea that it will “self-destruct” if it uses its bombs, triggering an “overwhelming” response from the allies.
While Kim’s intercontinental ballistic missiles targeting the US homeland have garnered much international attention, he is also expanding his arsenal of short-range weapons with the aim of coming down heavily on regional missile defense.
The North describes some of those weapons as “tactical”, which experts say threaten to arm them with smaller battlefields and to blunt the strong conventional forces of South Korea and the United States. They are actively used during the conflict for the U.S., which deploys about 28,500 troops. in the south.
Concerns are also rising in Tokyo, where Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told lawmakers on Thursday that North Korea has already mastered nuclear weapons technology large enough to fit on its ballistic missiles reaching Japan. .
North Korea’s provocative tests and threats have prompted calls by South Korean conservatives for the redeployment of strategic US nuclear weapons, which were removed from South Korean soil in the 1990s, or for the South to develop its nuclear weapons capabilities. to pursue.
President of South Korea eun suk yeoli Asked whether Seoul would consider requesting Washington to withdraw its nuclear weapons or enter into a NATO-like “nuclear-sharing” arrangement with its country, Seoul declined to give specifics.
“Various views are being expressed in the public and private sectors in our country and in the United States regarding the (US) extended resistance, and we are listening carefully to those views and exploring the various possibilities,” Yoon told reporters on Thursday. Examining it closely.”
Yoon has repeatedly insisted that his government has no plans to seek a deterrent of its own.
Seoul’s Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Hong Sik said on Thursday that the military had not discussed the possibility of a redeployment of US nuclear weapons.
North Korea has fired more than 40 ballistic and cruise missiles at more than 20 launch events this year, taking advantage of divisions in the UN Security Council to deepen Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Council permanent members Moscow and Beijing have rejected US-led proposals to impose tighter restrictions on Pyongyang’s intensive testing activity.
Experts say North Korea’s next nuclear test, its seventh total since 2006, is likely to be the first that the Security Council has failed to meet new sanctions.
Nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang have been stalled since early 2019 over disagreements over the release of US-led sanctions against the North’s denuclearization moves.
Wednesday’s tests boosted weapons performance this year by a record number of North Koreawhich has halted its testing activity with threats to retrospectively use it against nuclear weapons south Korea and United States of america If he considers his leadership in danger.
Analysts say that Kim is taking advantage of the distraction created by Russia’s war on Ukraine, using it as a window to accelerate weapons development as he pursues a full nuclear arsenal that could help regional could seriously endanger American allies and the American homeland.
South Korean officials say Kim may conduct a nuclear test in the coming weeks or months, a pressure campaign aimed at forcing the United States to accept North Korea’s idea of a nuclear power. can be extended further, which can negotiate economic and security concessions from a position. might.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said the two missiles flew for about three hours during Wednesday’s tests, drawing an oval and eight-shaped pattern over its western sea, and showed that they could travel 2,000 kilometers (1,240 mi). ) can hit distant targets. The agency said the tests demonstrated the accuracy and combat-fighting efficiency of the weapon system, which has already been deployed in Army units operating “tactical” battlefield nuclear weapons.
Following the tests, Kim praised the readiness of his nuclear warfare forces, which he said were fully prepared for “real war to bring the enemy under his control” with various weapon systems that were “mobile, accurate and powerful”. report good.
He said the tests send “a more clear warning to the enemy” and “to fully prevent and fully initiate any significant military crisis and war crisis at any time” And vowed to expand.
Flight details and characteristics of the missiles described in state media are similar to those reported by North Korea in January after a previous demonstration of its long-range cruise missile system, which first surfaced in September last year.
State media photos from Wednesday’s test showed a missile releasing an orange flame as it exited a launch vehicle.
Kim is seen smiling and clapping from a visual station set up inside an arched structure that appears to be a highway tunnel. Experts say that North Korea may intend to use such a structure to conceal its weapons before launch.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it was analyzing the tests. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the missiles would pose a potential threat to Japan if North Korean details about their range were accurate.
The test was the first known weapons demonstration after North Korea launched 12 ballistic missiles over a two-week period from October 9, which were described as simulated nuclear strikes on South Korean and US targets.
Those weapons included a new intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan demonstrating potential range to reach Guam, a major US military center in the Pacific, and from an unspecified platform inside an inland reservoir. A short-range missile fired.
North Korea said those exercises were intended as a warning to Seoul and Washington to conduct a “dangerous” joint naval exercise involving the nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in recent weeks, aimed at allies. There was strength to be shown on his face. About the growing threats to North Korea.
Concerns about the expansion of Kim’s nuclear arsenal have grown since his rubber-stamp parliament last month passed a new law authorizing the retrospective use of nuclear weapons in a wide range of scenarios, including non-combat situations , where it may feel its leadership is in danger.
South Korea’s military has since warned North Korea that it will “self-destruct” if it uses its bombs, triggering an “overwhelming” response from the allies.
While Kim’s intercontinental ballistic missiles targeting the US homeland have garnered much international attention, he is also expanding his arsenal of short-range weapons with the aim of coming down heavily on regional missile defense.
The North describes some of those weapons as “tactical”, which experts say threaten to arm them with smaller battlefields and to blunt the strong conventional forces of South Korea and the United States. They are actively used during the conflict for the U.S., which deploys about 28,500 troops. in the south.
Concerns are also rising in Tokyo, where Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told lawmakers on Thursday that North Korea has already mastered nuclear weapons technology large enough to fit on its ballistic missiles reaching Japan. .
North Korea’s provocative tests and threats have prompted calls by South Korean conservatives for the redeployment of strategic US nuclear weapons, which were removed from South Korean soil in the 1990s, or for the South to develop its nuclear weapons capabilities. to pursue.
President of South Korea eun suk yeoli Asked whether Seoul would consider requesting Washington to withdraw its nuclear weapons or enter into a NATO-like “nuclear-sharing” arrangement with its country, Seoul declined to give specifics.
“Various views are being expressed in the public and private sectors in our country and in the United States regarding the (US) extended resistance, and we are listening carefully to those views and exploring the various possibilities,” Yoon told reporters on Thursday. Examining it closely.”
Yoon has repeatedly insisted that his government has no plans to seek a deterrent of its own.
Seoul’s Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Hong Sik said on Thursday that the military had not discussed the possibility of a redeployment of US nuclear weapons.
North Korea has fired more than 40 ballistic and cruise missiles at more than 20 launch events this year, taking advantage of divisions in the UN Security Council to deepen Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Council permanent members Moscow and Beijing have rejected US-led proposals to impose tighter restrictions on Pyongyang’s intensive testing activity.
Experts say North Korea’s next nuclear test, its seventh total since 2006, is likely to be the first that the Security Council has failed to meet new sanctions.
Nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang have been stalled since early 2019 over disagreements over the release of US-led sanctions against the North’s denuclearization moves.