North Korea’s recent outbreak of rocket tests designed to simulate the tactical washing of the South nuclear weapons State news agency KCNA said it as a warning after large-scale naval exercises by South Korean and US forces.
North Korea Officials in Seoul and Tokyo said they fired two ballistic missiles early Sunday morning, the seventh such launch since September 25.
Leader Kim Jong Un The KCNA reported the guided drills of nuclear warfare units over the past two weeks, involving ballistic missiles with dummy nuclear warheads, KCNA reported, saying it was intended to give an powerful war deterrence message.
Various tests simulated targeting military command facilities, striking key ports and neutralizing airfields in the South, KCNA added.
“The effectiveness and actual combat capability of our nuclear combat force has been fully demonstrated when it is fully ready to strike and destroy targets at any time,” KCNA said. from any position”.
“Although the other side continues to talk about dialogue and negotiations, we have nothing to say and do not feel the need to do so,” Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA.
KCNA said the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea decided to conduct the drill as an inevitable response to the large-scale mobilization of the US and South Korean navies, including aircraft carriers and aircraft carriers. nuclear powered submarines.
“The statement they made is clear that the recent series of tests is their way of signaling resolve to the United States and south Korea when they conduct their own military operations,” said Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The United States and South Korea held joint maritime exercises involving a U.S. aircraft carrier on Friday, a day after South Korean warplanes jumped in response to a drill. North Korea’s apparent bombing.
The naval exercise involved the US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and its strike group. The navies of South Korea, Japan and the United States have also conducted joint exercises before.
Technically, US-led UN forces were still at war with North Korea as the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Tactical Nuclear Weapons
North Korea has previously referred to only one missile as having a tactical nuclear capability, but the statement made it clear that multiple systems, new and old, would be assigned such a role, Panda said.
If North Korea continues nuclear testing, analysts say, it could include developing smaller “tactical” warheads for the battlefield and designed to fit short-range missiles like recently tested type.
South Korean and US officials say there are signs that North Korea may soon detonate a new nuclear device in underground tunnels at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, which was officially closed this year. 2018.
Putting small warheads on short-range missiles could represent a dangerous shift in North Korea’s deployment and plans to use nuclear weapons, analysts say.
NEW MISSILE, AUTOMATIC SILOS
On October 4, North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile farther than ever, flying what it said was a new intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) to Japan for the first time since 2017.
Analysts confirmed photos released by state media showed a never-before-seen IRBM.
Panda said: “It was unusual for them to test a missile that had never been tested before for the first time in Japan; that shows a significant level of confidence in the engine,” said Panda.
Among the other missiles shown in the photo are short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) including the KN-25 and KN-23 types as well as one with a payload of 2.5 tons, as well as the Rocket Launcher Universal KN-09 300mm System (MLRS).
The photos notably show a test of a “navy” KN-23 designed to be launched from a submarine. That rocket was showcased in an ocean test last year, but the test was conducted in a manner that simulated a launch from what state media called “a silo under a reservoir”.
This year, North Korea has seen North Korea test-fire missiles from various sites and launchers, including trains, in what analysts say is an attempt to simulate a conflict. break and make it difficult for the enemy to detect and destroy the missile.
The KN-23 is designed to perform a “pull-up” maneuver as it approaches its target, to help it evade missile defense systems.
North Korea Officials in Seoul and Tokyo said they fired two ballistic missiles early Sunday morning, the seventh such launch since September 25.
Leader Kim Jong Un The KCNA reported the guided drills of nuclear warfare units over the past two weeks, involving ballistic missiles with dummy nuclear warheads, KCNA reported, saying it was intended to give an powerful war deterrence message.
Various tests simulated targeting military command facilities, striking key ports and neutralizing airfields in the South, KCNA added.
“The effectiveness and actual combat capability of our nuclear combat force has been fully demonstrated when it is fully ready to strike and destroy targets at any time,” KCNA said. from any position”.
“Although the other side continues to talk about dialogue and negotiations, we have nothing to say and do not feel the need to do so,” Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA.
KCNA said the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea decided to conduct the drill as an inevitable response to the large-scale mobilization of the US and South Korean navies, including aircraft carriers and aircraft carriers. nuclear powered submarines.
“The statement they made is clear that the recent series of tests is their way of signaling resolve to the United States and south Korea when they conduct their own military operations,” said Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The United States and South Korea held joint maritime exercises involving a U.S. aircraft carrier on Friday, a day after South Korean warplanes jumped in response to a drill. North Korea’s apparent bombing.
The naval exercise involved the US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and its strike group. The navies of South Korea, Japan and the United States have also conducted joint exercises before.
Technically, US-led UN forces were still at war with North Korea as the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Tactical Nuclear Weapons
North Korea has previously referred to only one missile as having a tactical nuclear capability, but the statement made it clear that multiple systems, new and old, would be assigned such a role, Panda said.
If North Korea continues nuclear testing, analysts say, it could include developing smaller “tactical” warheads for the battlefield and designed to fit short-range missiles like recently tested type.
South Korean and US officials say there are signs that North Korea may soon detonate a new nuclear device in underground tunnels at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, which was officially closed this year. 2018.
Putting small warheads on short-range missiles could represent a dangerous shift in North Korea’s deployment and plans to use nuclear weapons, analysts say.
NEW MISSILE, AUTOMATIC SILOS
On October 4, North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile farther than ever, flying what it said was a new intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) to Japan for the first time since 2017.
Analysts confirmed photos released by state media showed a never-before-seen IRBM.
Panda said: “It was unusual for them to test a missile that had never been tested before for the first time in Japan; that shows a significant level of confidence in the engine,” said Panda.
Among the other missiles shown in the photo are short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) including the KN-25 and KN-23 types as well as one with a payload of 2.5 tons, as well as the Rocket Launcher Universal KN-09 300mm System (MLRS).
The photos notably show a test of a “navy” KN-23 designed to be launched from a submarine. That rocket was showcased in an ocean test last year, but the test was conducted in a manner that simulated a launch from what state media called “a silo under a reservoir”.
This year, North Korea has seen North Korea test-fire missiles from various sites and launchers, including trains, in what analysts say is an attempt to simulate a conflict. break and make it difficult for the enemy to detect and destroy the missile.
The KN-23 is designed to perform a “pull-up” maneuver as it approaches its target, to help it evade missile defense systems.
