Tag: Kim Jong Un

North Korea tests more cruise missiles as Kim Jong Un calls for war readiness

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A South Korean Army’s K-9 self-propelled howitzer fires during a military exercise in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, on February 2, 2024. South Korea’s military said it detected North Korea firing multiple cruise missiles into waters off its western coast.
| Photo Credit: AP

South Korea’s military said it detected North Korea firing multiple cruise missiles into waters off its western coast on February 2, adding to a provocative run of weapons testing in the face of deepening tensions with the United States, South Korea and Japan.

The launches came hours after state media reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reiterated his focus on strengthening his naval forces as he inspected the construction of new warships at a western shipyard, calling such projects crucial to the country’s war preparations.

The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the U.S. and South Korean militaries were analysing the launches, which were the North’s fourth round of cruise missile tests in 2024. There was no immediate information on the exact number of missiles fired or how far they flew.

Mr. Kim’s visit to the shipyard in Nampho followed a series of weapons demonstrations in January that furthered increased tensions with rivals, including tests of new cruise missiles designed to be launched from submarines.

Mr. Kim in recent months has been emphasising his goals of building a nuclear-armed navy to counter what he portrays as growing external threats posed by the United States, South Korea and Japan, which have stepped up their military cooperation to cope with Mr. Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile programme.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency did not specify when Mr. Kim visited Nampho. It paraphrased Mr. Kim as saying that the strengthening of his naval force “presents itself as the most important issue in reliably defending the maritime sovereignty of the country and stepping up the war preparations.” KCNA did not specify the types of warships being built in Nampho, but said they were related to a five-year military development plan set during a ruling party congress in early 2021. Mr. Kim during those meetings revealed an extensive wish list of advanced military assets, which included nuclear-powered submarines and nuclear missiles that can be launched from underwater.

“During the inspection at Nampho, Mr. Kim was briefed on the progress of his naval projects and remaining technological challenges and ordered workers to “unconditionally” complete the efforts within the timeframe of the plan that runs through 2025,” KCNA said.

Kim Inae, spokesperson of South Korea’s Unification Ministry, said it was likely the first time state media reported the North Korean leader giving a military-related inspection in Nampho, as the country’s eastern shipyard of Sinpo had been its main hub building advanced naval vessels such as submarines. Ms. Inae didn’t provide a specific answer when asked whether Seoul believes the North was using Nampho for its nascent efforts to build nuclear-powered submarines.

“By making military threats routine, North Korea is trying to create a sense of insecurity among South Korean people to undermine trust in their government and to attract international attention to build an atmosphere in which its demands must be accepted to resolve the crisis on the Korean Peninsula,” she said.

Kim Jong Un also called for naval might on Sunday while inspecting a test of a new nuclear-capable cruise missile, the Pulhwasal-3-31, designed to be fired from submarines.

While North Korea has demonstrated quick progress in expanding its lineup of nuclear-capable missiles that are fired from land, experts say Mr. Kim’s naval ambitions may require significant more time, resources and technology breakthroughs. Its aging, diesel-powered submarines can launch only torpedoes and mines, and experts say Mr. Kim’s stated pursuit of nuclear-propelled submarines is largely unfeasible without significant external assistance.

North Korean military scientists and engineers in recent months have been checking off on Mr. Kim’s 2021 list of goals, testing for the first time last year a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, named Hwasong-18, which added to the North’s arsenal of weapons targeting the U.S. mainland.

The North on January 14 also tested a new solid-fuel intermediate-range missile, which underscored its efforts to advance its weapons that could target U.S. assets in the Pacific, including the military hub of Guam.

The North also plans to launch three more military spy satellites in 2024 after sending its first one into orbit in November, as Mr. Kim has described space-based reconnaissance as crucial for monitoring U.S. and South Korean military activities and enhancing the threat of his nuclear-capable missiles.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years, after Mr. Kim accelerated his weapons development to an unprecedented pace while issuing provocative nuclear threats against the United States, South Korea and Japan. The United States and its Asian allies in response have strengthened their combined military exercises and updated their deterrence strategies.

There are concerns that Mr. Kim, emboldened by the steady advancement of his nuclear arsenal and strengthened ties with Russia, would further ramp up pressure against his rivals in an election year in the United States and South Korea. Experts say Mr. Kim’s long-term goal is to force the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and negotiate security concessions and sanctions relief from a position of strength.

While most analysts downplay Mr. Kim’s threats of war, some say there’s a possibility that he can attempt a direct military provocation he can likely contain without letting it escalate into a full-blown conflict. One of the potential crisis points is the disputed western sea boundary between the Koreas, which had been the site of several bloody naval skirmishes in past years.

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Russian foreign minister offers security talks with North Korea, China as he visits Pyongyang

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attend the talks in Pyongyang, North Korea, on October 19, 2023. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service telegram channel via AP

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attend the talks in Pyongyang, North Korea, on October 19, 2023.
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service telegram channel via AP

Russia’s Foreign Minister proposed regular security talks with North Korea and China to deal with what he described as increasing U.S.-led regional military threats, as he met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his top diplomat on October 19 during a visit to Pyongyang.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in North Korea’s capital on October 20 on a two-day trip expected to focus on how to boost the two countries’ defence ties following a September summit between Mr. Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Last week, the United States said North Korea had transferred munitions to Russia to boost its fighting capabilities in Ukraine in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban any weapons trading involving North Korea.

On October 19, Mr. Lavrov met Mr. Kim for talks that lasted about an hour, Russia’s state-run Tass news agency reported, without elaborating. Mr. Lavrov met his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son Hui, earlier on October 19 and lauded deepening bilateral cooperation.

Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov greet each other during a meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, on October 19, 2023. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service’s telegram channel via AP.

Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov greet each other during a meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, on October 19, 2023.
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service’s telegram channel via AP.

The Lavrov-Kim meeting “means that the recent fleet of containers likely caring munitions from North Korea to Russia was not the last Kim-Putin transaction the world has to worry about,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha University in Seoul.

“After accepting Pyongyang’s help to resupply the illegal invasion of Ukraine, Moscow is set to commit further violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions by providing North Korea with weapons technology that could threaten stability in East Asia,” Mr. Easley said.

More details of Mr. Lavrov’s meetings with Mr. Kim and Ms. Choe weren’t immediately available. But Tass quoted Mr. Lavrov as telling reporters that he supports holding regular talks on security issues on the Korean Peninsula with North Korea and China.

“The United States, Japan and South Korea intensifying military activity here and Washington working toward moving strategic infrastructure, including nuclear aspects, here, are of great concern to us and our North Korean friends,” Mr. Lavrov said, according to Tass. “We oppose this unconstructive and dangerous policy with a course toward de-escalation and inadmissibility of escalating tensions here.”

The recent flurry of diplomacy between Russia and North Korea underscores how their interests are aligning in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the United States — North Korea over its advancing nuclear program and Russia over its war with Ukraine.

The U.S. has been expanding regular military drills with South Korea and temporarily deploying more powerful military assets around the Korean Peninsula in response to North Korea’s barrage of missile tests since last year. The U.S. and South Korea have also resumed some trilateral military exercises with Japan.

The focus of outside attention during Mr. Lavrov’s visit is whether the two countries will provide any hints of how they will solidify their security cooperation or announce the timing of Mr. Putin’s promised trip to Pyongyang to reciprocate Mr. Kim’s visit to Russia’s Far East.

During his travel to Russia, Mr. Kim met Mr. Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia’s most important domestic space launch centre, and inspected other key Russian weapon-making sites. That triggered intense speculation that Mr. Kim seeks sophisticated Russian technologies to modernize his nuclear arsenal in return for supplying conventional arms to refill Russia’s declining weapons inventory. Neither Russia nor North Korea has disclosed what Mr. Putin and Mr. Kim agreed to during the summit.

“After the historic summit between President Putin and Chairman of State Affairs Kim Jong Un at the Vostochny Cosmodrome on September 13, we can confidently say that the relations have reached a qualitatively new strategic level,” Mr. Lavrov said at the start of his meeting with Ms. Choe, according to Russia’s state-run Interfax news agency.

Ms. Choe said her meeting with Mr. Lavrov “will become an important stage in terms of the implementation of the agreements” reached by Mr. Kim and Mr. Putin, Tass said.

During a dinner banquet held for him on October 18, Mr. Lavrov said Russia deeply values North Korea’s “unwavering and principled support” for its war on Ukraine as well as Pyongyang’s decision to recognize the independence of Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, according to Russia’s Foreign Ministry.

North Korean state media said Mr. Lavrov also praised North Korea for “remaining unfazed by any pressure of the U.S. and the West,” and said that Russia fully supports Mr. Kim’s push to protect its security and economic interests. Ms. Choe said Pyongyang and Moscow were building an “unbreakable comradely relationship” under the leadership of Mr. Kim and Mr. Putin.

The White House said Friday that North Korea had delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia. The White House released images that it said showed the containers were loaded onto a Russian-flagged ship before being moved via train to southwestern Russia.

Also Read: U.S. imposes sanctions on North Korean, Russian accused of supporting North Korea’s ballistics missile program

Since last year, the U.S. has accused North Korea of providing ammunition, artillery shells and rockets to Russia, likely much of them copies of Soviet-era munitions. North Korea has steadfastly denied it shipped arms to Russia, but South Korean officials said North Korean weapons provided to Russia have already been used in Ukraine.

Lim Soosuk, spokesperson of South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, told reporters on October 19 that Seoul was closely monitoring Mr. Lavrov’s visit to North Korea and that any cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang should be conducted in a way that complies with U.N. Security Council resolutions.

When asked whether Mr. Lavrov’s comments stating that Russia fully supports Mr. Kim’s policies could be interpreted as an acceptance of North Korea’s nuclear weapons status, Mr. Lim insisted that the North “no matter what it does, will never be recognized as a nuclear power and will face increasing international sanctions.”

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Hamas attack on Israel prompts South Korea to consider pausing military agreement with North

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South Korea’s Defence Minister said, on October 10, he would push to suspend a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement in order to resume frontline surveillance on rival North Korea, as the surprise attack on Israel by Hamas militants raised concerns in South Korea about similar assaults by the North.


Also Read | What did Hamas achieve from the attack on Israel?

The agreement, reached during a brief period of diplomacy between South Korea’s former liberal President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, created buffer zones along land and sea boundaries and no-fly zones above the border to prevent clashes.

Talking with reporters in Seoul, South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik cited the violence in Israel and Gaza to stress the need to strengthen monitoring on the North. Shin was appointed by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday.

Shin was particularly critical of the inter-Korean agreement’s no-fly zones, which he said prevents South Korea from fully utilising its air surveillance assets at a time when North Korean nuclear threats are growing.

Relations between the Koreas have decayed following the collapse of larger talks between Washington and Pyongyang in 2019 over the North’s nuclear weapons programme. North Korea has threatened to abandon the 2018 agreement while dialling up missile tests to a record pace, prompting the conservative Yoon to take a harder line on Pyongyang than his dovish predecessor.


Also Read | What is Hamas, the Palestinian militant group?

“While it would take a complicated legal process for South Korea to fully abandon the agreement, pausing the agreement would only require a decision from a Cabinet meeting,” Shin said.

“Hamas has attacked Israel, and the Republic of Korea is under a much stronger threat,” Shin said, invoking South Korea’s formal name.

“To counter (that threat), we need to be observing (North Korean military movements) with our surveillance assets, to gain prior knowledge of whether they are preparing provocations or not. If Israel had flown aircraft and drones to maintain continuous monitoring, I think they might have not been hit like that,” he said.

Shin’s comments are likely to draw fierce criticism from South Korea’s liberal opposition, which has described the agreement as a safety valve between the Koreas as relations continue to worsen.

There haven’t been major skirmishes between the Koreas since the agreement was reached in September 2018. But South Korea last November accused the North of violating the agreement’s tensions-reducing requirements when it fired a missile near a populated South Korean island near their sea border, triggering air raid sirens and forcing residents to evacuate.

In June 2020, North Korea blew up an empty inter-Korean liaison office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong to demonstrate anger over South Korea’s unwillingness to prevent its civilian activists from flying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border. North Korean troops also shot and killed a South Korean government official who was found drifting near their sea boundary in September that year.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years as the pace of both North Korea’s weapons demonstrations and the United States’ combined military exercises with South Korea and Japan have both intensified in tit-for-tat.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry said the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group will arrive in the South Korean mainland port of Busan on Thursday in the allies’ latest show of force against North Korea.

The Ministry said the Reagan’s Carrier Strike Group 5 conducted joint training with South Korean and Japanese naval assets on Monday and Tuesday in waters near the southern South Korean island of Jeju.

Kim, in turn, has been boosting the visibility of his partnerships with Moscow and Beijing as he attempts to break out of diplomatic isolation and insert Pyongyang into a united front against Washington.

Recent commercial satellite photos show a sharp increase in rail traffic along the North Korea-Russia border, indicating the North is supplying munitions to Russia to fuel President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine,Beyond Parallel, a website run by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in a report last week.

Speculation about a possible North Korean plan to refill Russia’s munition stores drained in its protracted war with Ukraine flared last month, when Kim travelled to Russia to meet Mr. Putin and visit key military sites. Foreign officials suspect Kim is seeking advanced Russian weapons technologies in return for to boost his nuclear programme.

North Korea is expected to make its third attempt to launch a military spy satellite this month following consecutive failures in recent months, as Kim stresses the importance of acquiring space-based reconnaissance capacities to monitor U.S. and South Korean military movements and enhance the threat of his nuclear-capable missiles.

In an editorial published on Monday, South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo newspaper called for South Korea to take lessons from Israel’s failures to prevent the attack by the Hamas militants while strengthening its readiness against potential North Korean aggression.

“Israel, surrounded by enemies and terrorist forces, is reminiscent of (South) Korea’s current security situation. Even the Mossad failed to detect signs of the attack and Israel’s all-weather air defence system Iron Dome exposed a hole,” the newspaper said. “The government must be thoroughly prepared for North Korea’s possible military provocations when the United States and other allies focus their attention on the Middle East.”

The inter-Korean military agreement is one of the few tangible remnants from Moon’s ambitious diplomacy with Kim. Moon’s efforts helped set up Kim’s first summit with former U.S. President Donald Trump in June 2018.

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North Korea’s Kim gets a close look at Russian fighter jets as his tour narrows its focus to weapons

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In this photo released by Khabarovsky Krai region government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, looks at a military jet cockpit while visiting a Russian aircraft plant that builds fighter jets in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, about 6,200 kilometers (3,900 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, on Sept. 15, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un peered into the cockpit of Russia’s most advanced fighter jet as he toured an aircraft factory Friday on an extended trip that has raised concerns about banned weapons transfer deals between the increasingly isolated countries.

Since entering Russia aboard his armored train on Tuesday, Mr. Kim has met President Vladimir Putin and visited weapons and technology sites, underscoring deepening ties between the two nations locked in separate confrontations with the West. Foreign governments and experts speculate Mr. Kim will likely supply ammunition to Russia for its war efforts in Ukraine in exchange for receiving advanced weapons or technology from Russia.

On Friday, Russia’s state media published video showing Mr. Kim’s train pulling into a station in the far eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Mr. Kim’s convoy sweeping out of the station on the way to the city’s aircraft factory.

Russia’s Cabinet later released video showing Mr. Kim, on an elevated platform, looking at the cockpit of the Su-57 — Russia’s most sophisticated fighter jet — while listening to its pilot. Mr. Kim beamed and clapped his hands after a Su-35 fighter jet landed after a demonstration flight.

According to a Russian Cabinet statement, Mr. Kim visited a facility producing Sukhoi SJ-100 passenger planes as well. It said he was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.

“We have shown one of our leading aircraft plants to the leader of (North Korea),” Mr. Manturov said in the statement. “We are seeing potential for cooperation in the aircraft-making and other industries, which is particularly acute for solving our countries’ task of achieving technological sovereignty.”

Mr. Kim is to travel next to Vladivostok to view Russia’s Pacific fleet, a university and other facilities, Mr. Putin told Russian media after he met with Mr. Kim on Wednesday.

In this photo released by Khabarovsky Krai region government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a Russian aircraft plant that builds fighter jets in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, about 6,200 kilometers (3,900 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, on Sept. 15, 2023.

In this photo released by Khabarovsky Krai region government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a Russian aircraft plant that builds fighter jets in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, about 6,200 kilometers (3,900 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, on Sept. 15, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
AP

It was Mr. Kim’s first foreign trip since April 2019, when he visited Vladivostok for his first meeting with Mr. Putin. The 2019 Russian visit came two months after Mr. Kim failed to win badly needed sanctions relief from the United States during a second summit with then U.S.-President Donald Trump in Vietnam.

Mr. Kim’s earlier trip was likely primarily meant to seek Russian help to overcome the brunt of U.S.-led sanctions. But this time, Mr. Putin appears to be desperate to receive North Korean conventional arms to replenish his exhausted inventory in the second year of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Experts say Mr. Kim, in return, would seek Russian assistance to modernize his air force and navy, which are inferior to those of rival South Korea while Mr. Kim has devoted much of his own resources to his nuclear weapons program.

The summit between Mr. Kim and Mr. Putin on Wednesday took place at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia’s most important domestic launch center. The venue is likely linked to North Korean struggles to put into space an operational spy satellite to monitor U.S. and South Korean military movements.

Asked if Russia and North Korea could cooperate in space research, Mr. Putin said: “That’s why we have come here. (Kim) shows keen interest in rocket technology. They’re trying to develop space, too.”

Since last year, the U.S. accused North Korea of providing ammunition, artillery shells and rockets to Russia, likely much of them copies of Soviet-era munitions. South Korean officials said North Korean weapons provided to Russia have already been used in Ukraine.

On Thursday evening, the national security advisers of the U.S., South Korea and Japan talked by phone and expressed “serious concerns” about prospective weapons deals between Russia and North Korea. They warned Russia and North Korea would “pay a clear price” if they go ahead with such deals, according to South Korea’s presidential office.

The White House said the three national security advisers noted that any arms export from North Korea to Russia would directly violate multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, including resolutions that Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. council, itself voted to adopt. They reiterated their cooperation toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as well, according to a White House statement.

After a meeting in Seoul discussing the allies’ nuclear deterrence strategies, U.S. and South Korean officials on Friday stepped up their condemnation of the recent moves by Russia and North Korea.

Sasha Baker, the U.S. acting undersecretary of defense for policy, said that Washington will continue to “try to identify and expose and counter Russian attempts to acquire military equipment, again, to prosecute their illegal war on Ukraine.” South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin said Washington and Seoul, while tightening security cooperation, would ensure that Moscow faces consequences if it proceeds to help advance Pyongyang’s weapons program.

A possibility that Russian may aid North Korea’s nuclear weapons program stocked anger in South Korea, where some argued that Seoul could provide lethal arms to Ukraine in retaliation. But South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that its policy of not supplying weapons to countries at war remains unchanged. Seoul has far limited its support of Ukraine to non-lethal military supplies and humanitarian items.

Some analysts question how much Russia would be willing to share its closely guarded high-tech weapons technologies with North Korea in return for its conventional arms. But others say Russia would do so because of its urgent need to refill its drained reserves.

Mr. Putin told reporters that Russia and North Korea have “lots of interesting projects” in spheres like transportation and agriculture and that Moscow is providing its neighbor with humanitarian aid. But he avoided talking about military cooperation, saying only that Russia is abiding by the sanctions prohibiting procuring weapons from North Korea.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Mr. Putin had accepted Mr. Kim’s invitation to visit Pyongyang and that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to visit North Korea in October.

During Wednesday’s summit, Mr. Kim vowed “full and unconditional support” for Mr. Putin in what he described as a “just fight against hegemonic forces to defend its sovereign rights, security and interests,” in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine.

Information on Mr. Kim’s trip to Russia is largely from the two nations’ official media outlets. North Korean media did not provide updates Friday on Mr. Kim’s activities. They typically report on Mr. Kim’s activities a day later, apparently to meet the need for North Korean propaganda to glorify Mr. Kim.

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North Korea’s Kim arrives in Russia for Putin meeting

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North Korea may have tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets based on Soviet designs that could give a huge boost to the Russian army in Ukraine, analysts say.

Joined by his top military officials handling his nuclear-capable weapons and munitions factories, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on Tuesday before an expected meeting with President Vladimir Putin that has sparked concerns about a potential arms deal for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

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North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim boarded his personal train Sunday afternoon accompanied by unspecified members of the country’s ruling party, government and military.

South Korea’s military assessed the train crossed into Russia sometime early Tuesday, Jeon Ha Gyu, spokesperson of South Korea’s Defense Ministry, said in a briefing without elaborating on how the military obtained the information.

Kim’s delegation likely includes his foreign minister, Choe Sun Hui, and his top two military officials – Korean People’s Army Marshals Ri Pyong Chol and Pak Jong Chon.

Other officials identified in North Korean state media photos may hint at what Kim might seek from Putin and what he would be willing to give.

The officials include Pak Thae Song, chairman of North Korea’s space science and technology committee, and Navy Adm. Kim Myong Sik, who are linked with North Korean efforts to acquire spy satellites and nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines. Experts say North Korea would struggle to acquire such capabilities without external help, although it’s not clear if Russia would share such sensitive technologies.

Kim Jong Un is also apparently bringing Jo Chun Ryong, a ruling party official in charge of munitions policies who had accompanied the leader on his recent tours to factories producing artillery shells and missiles, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which analyzed the North Korean photos.

North Korea may have tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets based on Soviet designs that could give a huge boost to the Russian army in Ukraine, analysts say.

Arms supplies to refill Russian reserves

A possible venue where Kim and Putin could meet is the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, where Putin arrived Monday to attend an international forum that runs through Wednesday, according to Russia’s TASS news agency. Putin’s first meeting with Kim was held in 2019 in the city that’s about 680 kilometres north of Pyongyang. Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying Putin and Kim will meet after the Vladivostok forum, but the reports didn’t specify when or where.

Kim Jong Un is making his first foreign trip since the COVID-19 pandemic during which North Korea tightly enforced border controls for more than three years.

Associated Press journalists near the North Korea-Russia frontier saw a green train with yellow trim similar to one Kim used during previous foreign trips at a station on the North Korean side of a border river on Monday.

US officials released intelligence last week that North Korea and Russia were arranging a meeting between their leaders.

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According to US officials, Putin could focus on securing more supplies of North Korean artillery and other ammunition to refill declining reserves as he seeks to defuse a Ukrainian counteroffensive and show that he’s capable of grinding out a long war of attrition. That could potentially put more pressure on the US and its partners to pursue negotiations as concerns over a protracted conflict grow despite their huge shipments of advanced weaponry to Ukraine in the past 17 months.

“Arms discussions between Russia and the DPRK are expected to continue during Kim Jong Un’s trip to Russia,” said White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s official name of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “We urge the DPRK to abide by the public commitments that Pyongyang has made to not provide or sell arms to Russia.”

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington will monitor the meeting closely, reminding both countries that “any transfer of arms from North Korea to Russia would be a violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions,” and that the US “will not hesitate to impose new sanctions.”

In exchange, Kim could seek badly needed energy and food aid and advanced weapons technologies, including those related to intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines and military reconnaissance satellites, analysts say.

There are concerns that potential Russian technology transfers would increase the threat posed by Kim’s growing arsenal of nuclear weapons and missiles that are designed to target the US, South Korea, and Japan.

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Pyongyang-Moscow rapprochement

After decades of a complicated, hot-and-cold relationship, Russia and North Korea have been drawing closer since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The bond has been driven by Putin’s need for war help and Kim’s efforts to boost the visibility of his partnerships with traditional allies Moscow and Beijing as he tries to break out of diplomatic isolation and have North Korea be part of a united front against Washington.

The United States has been accusing North Korea since last year of providing Russia with arms, including artillery shells sold to the Russian mercenary group Wagner. Both Russian and North Korean officials denied such claims.

But speculation about the countries’ military cooperation grew after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made a rare visit to North Korea in July when Kim invited him to an arms exhibition and a massive military parade in the capital where he showcased ICBMs designed to target the US mainland.

Following that visit, Kim toured North Korea’s weapons factories, including a facility producing artillery systems where he urged workers to speed up the development and large-scale production of new kinds of ammunition. Experts say Kim’s visits to the factories likely had a dual goal of encouraging the modernization of North Korean weaponry and examining artillery and other supplies that could be exported to Russia.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit Russia to meet with Putin

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Russia and North Korea confirmed on September 11 that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia in a highly anticipated meeting with President Vladimir Putin that has sparked Western concerns about a potential arms deal for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

A brief statement on the Kremlin’s website said Mr. Kim’s visit is at Mr. Putin’s invitation and would take place “in the coming days.” The visit also was reported by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency, which said the leaders would meet — without specifying when and where.

Associated Press journalists near the North Korea-Russia frontier saw a green train with yellow trim — similar to the train used by Mr. Kim during previous foreign trips — at a station on the North Korean side of a border river.

A green train with yellow trimmings, resembling one used by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his previous travels, is seen steaming by a slogan which reads “Towards a new victory” on the North Korea border with Russia and China seen from China’s Yiyanwang Three Kingdoms viewing platform in Fangchuan in northeastern China’s Jilin province on September 11, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
AP

It was unclear whether Mr. Kim was on the train, which was seen moving back and forth between the station and the approach to the bridge that connects the countries. It had not crossed the bridge as of 7 p.m. (1000 GMT).

Citing unidentified South Korean government sources, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that the train likely left the North Korean capital of Pyongyang on Sunday evening and that a Kim-Putin meeting is possible as early as Tuesday.

The Yonhap news agency and some other media published similar reports. Japan’s Kyodo news agency cited Russian officials as saying Kim was possibly heading for Russia in his personal train.

South Korea’s Presidential Office, Defense Ministry and National Intelligence Service didn’t immediately confirm those details.

U.S. officials released intelligence last week that North Korea and Russia were arranging a meeting between their leaders that would take place within this month as they expand their cooperation in the face of deepening confrontations with the United States. A possible venue for the meeting is the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, where Mr. Putin arrived Monday to attend an international forum that runs through Wednesday, according to Russia’s TASS news agency. The city was also the site of Mr. Putin’s first meeting with Mr. Kim in 2019. According to U.S. officials, Mr. Putin could focus on securing more supplies of North Korean artillery and other ammunition to refill declining reserves as he seeks to defuse a Ukrainian counteroffensive and show that he’s capable of grinding out a long war of attrition. That could potentially put more pressure on the United States and its partners to pursue negotiations as concerns over a protracted conflict grow despite their huge shipments of advanced weaponry to Ukraine in the past 17 months.

North Korea has possibly tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets based on Soviet designs that could potentially give a huge boost to the Russian army, analysts say.

In exchange, Mr. Kim could seek badly needed energy and food aid and advanced weapons technologies, including those related to intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines and military reconnaissance satellites, analysts say.

There are concerns that potential Russian technology transfers would increase the threat posed by Mr. Kim’s growing arsenal of nuclear weapons and missiles that are designed to target the U.S., South Korea, and Japan.

After a complicated, hot-and-cold relationship for decades, Russia and North Korea have been drawing closer since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The bond has been driven by Mr. Putin’s need for war help and Kim’s efforts to boost the visibility of his partnerships with traditional allies Moscow and Beijing as he tries to break out of diplomatic isolation and have North Korea be part of a united front against Washington.

While using the distraction caused by the Ukraine conflict to ramp up its weapons development, North Korea has repeatedly blamed Washington for the crisis in Ukraine, claiming the West’s “hegemonic policy” justified a Russian offensive in Ukraine to protect itself.

North Korea is the only nation besides Russia and Syria to recognize the independence of two Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine — Donetsk and Luhansk — and it has also hinted at an interest in sending construction workers to those areas to help with rebuilding efforts.

Russia — along with China — have blocked U.S.-led efforts at the U.N. Security Council to strengthen sanctions on North Korea over its intensifying missile tests while accusing Washington of worsening tensions with Pyongyang by expanding military exercises with South Korea and Japan.

The United States has been accusing North Korea since last year of providing Russia with arms, including artillery shells sold to the Russian mercenary group Wagner. Both Russian and North Korean officials denied such claims. But speculation about the countries’ military cooperation grew after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made a rare visit to North Korea in July, when Mr. Kim invited him to an arms exhibition and a massive military parade in the capital where he showcased ICBMs designed to target the U.S. mainland.

Following that visit, Mr. Kim toured North Korea’s weapons factories, including a facility producing artillery systems where he urged workers to speed up the development and large-scale production of new kinds of ammunition. Experts say Kim’s visits to the factories likely had a dual goal of encouraging the modernization of North Korean weaponry and examining artillery and other supplies that could possibly be exported to Russia.

Jon Finer, U.S. President Joe Biden’s chief deputy national security adviser, told reporters Sunday that buying weapons from North Korea “may be the best and may be the only option” open to Moscow as it tries to keep its war effort going.

“We have serious concerns about the prospect of North Korea potentially selling weapons, additional weapons, to the Russian military. It is interesting to reflect for a minute on what it says that when Russia goes around the world looking for partners that can help it, it lands on North Korea,” Mr. Finer said aboard a plane carrying Biden from India to Vietnam.

Some analysts say a potential meeting between Mr. Kim and Mr. Putin would be more about symbolic gains than substantial military cooperation.

Russia, which has always closely guarded its most important weapons technologies, even from key allies such as China, could be unwilling to make major technology transfers with North Korea for what is likely to be limited war supplies transported over a small rail link between the countries, they say.

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Russian and Chinese delegates join North Korean leader Kim at a parade showing his newest missiles

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In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, talks with China’s Vice Chairman of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress Li Hongzhong, fourth right, as they and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, sixth right, attend a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War, on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea on July 27, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was joined by senior Russian and Chinese delegates as he displayed his most powerful nuclear-capable missiles in a military parade marking a major war anniversary with a show of defiance against the United States and deepening ties with Moscow as tensions on the peninsula are at their highest point in years.

Kim attended Thursday night’s parade with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese ruling party official Li Hongzhong from a balcony looking over a brightly illuminated Kim Il Sung Square, named after Kim’s grandfather, the founder of North Korea.

Edited footage from North Korean state TV on Friday showed streets and stands packed with tens of thousands of mobilized spectators, who roared in approval as waves of goose-stepping soldiers, tanks and huge, intercontinental ballistic missiles wheeled out on launcher trucks filled up the main road. People were brought from around the country to the capital, Pyongyang, to fill the crowd, according to state media.

The parade began with warm-up events that featured ceremonial flights of newly developed surveillance and attack drones, which were first unveiled by state media this week as they reported on an arms exhibition attended by Kim and Shoigu.

The main event began with Kim arriving at the square in a limousine escorted by a formation of motorcycles. Kim saluted honor guards and military officials and walked down a red carpet to enter a building where Shoigu and Li greeted him at the balcony, as troops below chanted “protect Kim Jong Un with our lives!”

Organizers broadcast messages in Russian, Chinese and Korean while introducing Kim’s guests to the crowd, drawing cheers and applause.

As the parade proceeded, Kim was constantly talking and exchanging smiles with Shoigu and Li, who respectively stood to his right and left at the balcony’s center. Kim and Shoigu repeatedly raised their hands to salute the parading troops. The broadcast did not show Kim making a speech.

Kim’s biggest weapons were saved for the end, when his troops rolled out new ICBMs that were flight-tested in recent months and demonstrated ranges that could reach deep into the U.S. mainland, the Hwasong-17 and Hwasong-18. Some analysts say the missiles are based on Russian designs or know-how.

North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam spoke, describing the parade as a historic celebration of the country’s “great victory” against “U.S. imperialist aggression forces and groups of its satellite states.”

He condemned the United States for its expanding military exercises with South Korea, which the North portrays as invasion rehearsals, and also holding new rounds of nuclear contingency planning meetings with Seoul. The allies describe their drills as defensive, and say the upgrades in training and planning are necessary to cope with the North’s evolving nuclear threat.

“We solemnly declare that if they attempt military confrontation as now, the exercise of our state’s armed forces will go beyond the scope of the right to defense for the United States of America and (South Korea),” Kang said, repeating previous North Korean threats of nuclear conflict.

“The U.S. imperialists have no room of choice of survival in case they use nuclear weapons against the DPRK,” he said, using the initials of his country’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Clouds over Pyongyang in recent days made it difficult for satellites to monitor preparations for the parade, which took place at night.

Satellite images showed what appeared to be a massing of people at the square at 1316 GMT (10:16 p.m. local) Thursday, said Dave Schmerler, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, which is part of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

North Korea’s invitation of Russian and Chinese delegates was a rare diplomatic opening since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts say Kim is trying to break out of diplomatic isolation and boost the visibility of his partnership with authoritarian allies to counter pressure from the United States.

The parade followed meetings between Kim and Shoigu this week that demonstrated North Korea’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and added to suspicions the North was willing to supply arms to Russia, whose war efforts have been compromised by defense procurement and inventory problems.

North Korean state media also highlighted a message sent by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who thanked Kim for “firmly supporting” his war efforts in Ukraine. Putin said that interests between Moscow and Pyongyang were aligning as they counter the “collective West in its policy to stand in the way of establishing a genuinely multipolar and just world order,” according to the Kremlin’s version of the letter.

Kim also held a luncheon and dinner banquet for Shoigu and his delegation following a second day of talks about expanding the countries’ “strategic and tactical collaboration and cooperation” in defense and security, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said.

“Given Russia’s need for ammunition for its illegal war in Ukraine and Kim Jong Un’s willingness to personally give the Russian defense minister a tour of North Korea’s arms exhibition, U.N. member states should increase vigilance for observing and penalizing sanctions violations,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.

He added: “China’s representation at North Korea’s parading of nuclear-capable missiles raises serious questions about Beijing enabling Pyongyang’s threats to global security.”

The parade capped off the North Korean festivities for the 70th anniversary of the armistice that stopped fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea, which triggered the war with a surprise attack on the South in June 1950, was supported by Chinese troops and the then-Soviet air force. South Korea, the United States and troops from other nations under the aegis of the U.N. fought to push back the invasion.

The July 1953 truce was never replaced with a peace treaty, leaving the Korean Peninsula in a technical state of war, but the North still sees it as a victory in the “Grand Fatherland Liberation War.”

The anniversary events were more somber in South Korea, where President Yoon Suk Yeol visited a war cemetery in Busan to honor foreign troops who died while fighting for the South.

In the face of growing North Korean threats, Yoon has pushed to expand South Korea’s military exercises with Washington and is seeking stronger U.S. reassurances that it would use its nuclear capabilities to defend the South in the event of a nuclear attack.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also marked the anniversary with a statement expressing concern over what he described as a growing “nuclear risk” on the Korean Peninsula.

“I urge the parties to resume regular diplomatic contacts and nurture an environment conducive to dialogue,” he said.

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North Korea’s launch of 1st spy satellite fails; sirens cause panic in Seoul

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North Korea said its attempt to put the country’s first spy satellite into orbit failed Wednesday, an apparent embarrassment to leader Kim Jong Un over his push to boost his military capability in the protracted security tensions with the United States and South Korea.

The statement published in state media said the rocket carrying the satellite crashed into waters off the Korean Peninsula’s western coast after it lost thrust following the separation of its first and second stages. It said scientists were examining the cause of the failure.

The rocket was launched about 6:30 a.m. from the northwestern Tongchang-ri area, where North Korea’s main space launch center is located, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

South Korea’s military said the rocket had “an abnormal flight” before it fell in the waters. It also said it bolstered its military readiness in close coordination with the United States. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that no object was believed to have reached space.

Evacuation orders

The North Korean launch had prompted brief evacuation orders in South Korea and Japan.

The South’s capital city of Seoul issued alerts over public speakers and cellphone text messages telling residents to prepare for evacuation. But there were no reports of damages or major disruption and Seoul later lifted the alert.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon apologised for confusion caused by the city’s emergency alert sent out but defended the decision to do so. He said while the alert might have been an overreaction, it was not a mistake despite the safety ministry saying the alert was sent out in error. 

The Japanese government activated a missile warning system for its Okinawa prefecture in southwestern Japan, believed to be in the path of the rocket.

“Please evacuate into buildings or underground,” the alert said. Authorities later lifted the calls for evacuation.

A top North Korean official had said Tuesday that the country needed a space-based reconnaissance system to counter escalating security threats from South Korea and the United States.

U.S. condemns launch

The United States strongly condemned North Korea for the launch, which used ballistic missile technology in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

President Joe Biden and his national security team were assessing the situation in coordination with U.S. allies and partners, National Security Council spokesperson Adam Hodge said.

It is not clear if a North Korean spy satellite would significantly bolster its defences. The satellite disclosed in the country’s state-run media didn’t appear to be sophisticated enough to produce high-resolution imagery. But some experts note that it is still likely capable of detecting troop movements and big targets, such as warships and warplanes.

Space-based surveillance system

Recent commercial satellite imagery of the North’s main rocket launch center in the northwest showed active construction activities indicating that North Korea plans to launch more than one satellite, however.

And in his statement Tuesday, Ri Pyong Chol, a close associate of leader Kim Jong Un, said the country it would be testing “various reconnaissance means.”

He said those surveillance assets are tasked with “tracking, monitoring, discriminating, controlling” and responding, both in advance and real time, to moves by the United States and its allies.

With three to five spy satellites, North Korea could build a space-based surveillance system that allows it to monitor the Korean Peninsula in near real-time, according to Lee Choon Geun, an honorary research fellow at South Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute.

During his visit to the country’s aerospace agency earlier this month, Kim emphasised the strategic significance a spy satellite could have in North Korea’s standoff with the United States and South Korea.

The satellite is one several high-tech weapons systems that Kim has publicly vowed to introduce in recent years. Other weapons he has pledged to develop include a multi-warhead missile, a nuclear submarine, a solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile and a hypersonic missile.

Denuclearization talks with the U.S. have been stalled since early 2019. In the meantime, Kim has focused on expanding his nuclear and missile arsenals in what experts say is an attempt to wrest concessions from Washington and Seoul. Since the beginning of 2022, North Korea has conducted more than 100 missile tests, many of them involving nuclear-capable weapons targeting the U.S. mainland, South Korea and Japan.

North Korea says its testing activities are self-defense measures meant to respond to expanded military drills between Washington and Seoul that it views as invasion rehearsals. U.S. and South Korean officials say their drills are defensive and they’ve bolstered them to cope with growing nuclear threats by North Korea.

The U.N. imposed economic sanctions on North Korea over its previous satellite launches, which it views as covers for testing its long-range missiles. China and Russia, permanent members of the U.N. council who are now locked in confrontations with the U.S., already blocked attempts to toughen sanctions over Pyongyang’s recent ballistic missile tests.

Disturbing regional peace

Before Tuesday’s launch, both South Korea and Japan said such a move would undermine regional peace. The South Korean Foreign Ministry warned that North Korea would face consequences.

After repeated failures, North Korea successfully put its first satellite into orbit in 2012, and the second one in 2016. The government said both are Earth-observation satellites launched under its peaceful space development program, but many foreign experts believed both were developed to spy on rivals.

Observers say there has been no evidence that the satellites have ever transmitted imagery back to North Korea.

U.N. chief condemns launch

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the military satellite launch, the spokesperson for the U.N. chief said. “The Secretary-General strongly condemns the military satellite launch conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General, said in a statement.

The secretary-general added any launch by Pyongyang using ballistic missile technology was “contrary” to the relevant Security Council resolutions.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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North Korea says it tested new solid-fuel long-range missile

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North Korea said on April 14 it has successfully test-launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile powered by solid propellants, a development that if confirmed could provide the country with a harder-to-detect weapon targeting the continental United States.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency issued the report a day after the country’s neighbours detected a launch of a long-range missile from near Pyongyang, which extended a run of weapons displays involving more than 100 missiles fired into sea since the start of 2022.

KCNA said the launch was supervised on site by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who described the missile — named Hwasong-18 — as the most powerful weapon of his nuclear forces that would enhance its counterattack abilities in the face of external threats created by the military activities of the United States and its regional allies.

Mr. Kim pledged to further expand his nuclear arsenal to “constantly strike extreme uneasiness and horror” in his rivals and make them feel regret for their wrong choices.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervises a test launch of a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-18 at an undisclosed location in this still image of a photo used in a video released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 14, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

North Korea has justified its weapons demonstrations as a response to the expanding military exercises between the United States and South Korea, which the North condemns as invasion rehearsals while using them as a pretext to push further its own weapons development.

Mr. Kim added that the Hwasong-18 would rapidly advance North Korea’s nuclear response posture and further support an aggressive military strategy that vows to maintain “frontal confrontation” against its rivals.

North Korea has tested various intercontinental missiles since 2017 that demonstrated the potential range to reach the U.S. mainland, but the others use liquid fuel that must be added relatively close to the launch and they cannot remain fueled for prolonged periods.

An ICBM with built-in solid propellants would be easier to move and hide and could be fired faster, reducing the opportunities for opponents to detect and counter the launch. It’s not immediately clear how close the North is to having a functional solid-fuel ICBM capable of striking the U.S. mainland.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry maintains North Korea’s technological advancements haven’t reached the point where it can protect its ICMB warheads from the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry. Last month, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup also told lawmakers that North Korea likely hasn’t yet mastered the technology to place nuclear warheads on its most advanced short-range missiles targeting South Korea, though he acknowledged the country was making considerable progress on it.

“This is a significant breakthrough for the North Koreans, but not an unexpected one,” said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“The primary significance of solid-fuel ICBMs is in terms of what they’ll do for the survivability of North Korea’s overall ICBM force,” he said.

“Because these missiles are fueled at the time of manufacture and are thus ready to use as needed, they will be much more rapidly useable in a crisis or conflict, depriving South Korea and the United States of valuable time that could be useful to preemptively hunt and destroy such missiles.”

North Korean state media published photos of the missile blasting off from a launch vehicle at a test site inside a forest as Kim watched from an observation post along with military officials and his daughter.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend a test launch of a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-18.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend a test launch of a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-18.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

KCNA described the Hwasong-18 as a three-stage missile with the first stage tested at a standard ballistic trajectory and the others programmed to fly at higher angles after separation to avoid North Korea’s neighbours. It wasn’t immediately clear how the third stage was tested, where the warhead would theoretically be placed.

The agency said the test didn’t threaten the security of other countries as the first and second stages fell into waters off the country’s eastern coast. It provided no details about what happened to the third stage, although the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper published an aerial photo of an object it described as the third stage following separation.

Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said North Korea for the test likely designed the third stage as an empty device and simply let it fall after separation.

He noted that North Korea didn’t release details about how high the missile went, which suggests it wasn’t tested at the weapon’s full capacity and range, and said the North likely will test the system several more times.

Soo Kim, an expert with Virginia-based consultancy LMI and a former CIA analyst, said each successive test by North Korea “seems to demonstrate greater options for the regime to provoke and threaten the region”.

“With the Day of the Sun festivities coming up, and a U.S.-South Korean summit around the corner, the timing is also ripe for a North Korean provocation for (Kim Jong Un) to yet again remind us that his weapons are getting bigger, better, and all the more challenging for the U.S., South Korea, and the international community to deal with,” she said.

She was referring to the birth anniversary of Kim’s state-founding grandfather, Kim Il Sung, which falls on Saturday, and a planned summit in Washington this month between President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.


ALSO READ | North Korea claims almost 800,000 have signed up to fight against U.S.

Solid-fuel ICBMs highlighted an extensive wish list Mr. Kim announced under a five-year arms development plan in 2021, which also included tactical nuclear weapons, hypersonic missiles, nuclear-powered submarines and spy satellites.

The North has fired around 30 missiles this year alone over 12 different launch events as both the pace of its weapons development and the U.S.-South Korean military exercises increase in a cycle of tit-for-tat. The U.S. and South Korean militaries conducted their biggest field exercises in years last month and separately held joint naval and air force drills involving a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group and nuclear-capable U.S. bombers.

North Korea claimed the drills simulated an all-out war against North Korea and communicated threats against it. The United States and South Korea have said their exercises are defensive in nature and expanding them was necessary to cope with the North’s evolving threats.

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North Korea fires cruise missiles as allies stage drills

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A TV screen reports about North Korea’s missile launch with file image during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on March 22, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

North Korea launched cruise missiles toward the sea on March 22, South Korea’s military said, three days after the North carried out what it called a simulated nuclear attack on South Korea to protest its military drills with the United States.

North Korea has stepped up its weapons testing activities, saying they are in response to the ongoing South Korean-U.S. military training that it sees as an invasion rehearsal. Analysts say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un likely intends to enlarge his arsenal to win greater outside concessions, while trying to boost an image of a strong leader amid domestic economic hardships.

The 11-day South Korean-U.S. drills are to end on March 23. But North Korea is expected to continue its weapons tests as the United States reportedly plans to send an aircraft carrier in coming days for another round of joint drills with South Korea.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected “several” cruise missile launches from the North’s eastern coastal town of Hamhung. It said the missiles flew into the waters off the North’s east coast and that South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities were analyzing further details.

The launches are the North’s sixth round of missile tests this month and the fourth since the U.S. and South Korean militaries early last week began large-scale military drills, which include field exercises and computer simulations. The field training is the largest of its kind since 2018 .The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the South Korean military will maintain a firm readiness and successfully complete the rest of the drills with the United States.

North Korea keeps a huge stockpile of ballistic missile systems whose tests are banned by multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions. Eleven rounds of U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea since 2006 were approved because of North Korea’s previous ballistic missile and nuclear test explosions.

Cruise missile tests by North Korea aren’t prohibited by the U.N. council. But experts say they still pose a serious threat to its neighbors because they are designed to fly at a lower altitude to avoid radar detection. Experts say the main mission of North Korean cruise missiles include striking U.S. aircraft carriers or other big enemy ships in the event of conflict.

North Korea has called some of its cruise and ballistic missiles “strategic” weapons, a suggestion that it wants to arm them with nuclear warheads. Foreign experts debate whether the North has overcome the remaining technological hurdles to possess functioning nuclear missiles.

North Korea’s state media didn’t immediately confirm Wednesday’s launches. But it carried a statement by senior Foreign Ministry official Jo Chol Su, which protested what it called recent U.S. diplomatic attempts at the U.N. Security Council to push with the North’s denuclearization.

Mr. Cho said North Korea will view any outside bid to force it to surrender its nuclear weapons as “a declaration of war.” He said North Korea will sternly deal with such an attempt in line with its escalatory nuclear doctrine.

After more than 70 missile tests last year — the largest number for a year — North Korea has extended its provocative run in weapons demonstrations in 2023, launching around 20 missiles in 10 separate events. The weapons that were tested this year included short-range nuclear-capable ballistic missiles capable of striking South Korea and intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to attack the mainland U.S.

This picture taken on March 16, 2023 and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 17 shows the launch of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at Pyongyang International Airport.

This picture taken on March 16, 2023 and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 17 shows the launch of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at Pyongyang International Airport.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

On March 12, the day before the South Korea-U.S. drills began, North Korea test-fired two cruise missiles from a submarine. In February, North Korea launched what it called four long-range cruise missiles that demonstrated potential to strike targets 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) away.

On March 19, Mr. Kim supervised a test-firing of a short-range ballistic missile launched from what was possibly a silo dug into the ground. State media called it a simulated nuclear attack on unspecified South Korean targets that was meant to send a “stronger warning” to the United States and South Korea over their drills.

The North’s media said a mock nuclear warhead placed on the missile detonated 800 meters (2,600 feet) above water, an altitude that some experts say was aimed at maximizing damage .It was the first time for North Korea to publicize such an altitude for detonating a nuclear weapon though it has previously claimed to have conducted simulated nuclear strikes on its rivals.

By disclosing such information, North Korea likely wanted to intimidate South Korea and the United States. After a test last week of the country’s longest-range Hwasong-17 ICBM, Mr. Kim told state media that the launch was meant to “strike fear into the enemies.”

The North’s testing spree indicates Mr. Kim is emboldened by his advancing nuclear arsenal. Last year, North Korea legislated a law that authorizes the preemptive use of nuclear weapons.

South Korea and the United States have been responding by expanding their joint military exercises .Seoul’s Defense Ministry said earlier Wednesday that South Korea and the U.S. are planning to conduct a live-fire exercise that would be “unprecedented” in scale in June.

As part of the ongoing joint drills, South Korean and U.S. troops on March 22, staged live-fire training at a site near the land border with North Korea. Col. Brandon Anderson, Deputy Commanding Officer of the 2nd Infantry Division, stressed that the drills were defensive in nature.

“We are (going to) continue to do it,” he said. “It is what we expect to do in conflict and to be good at it.”

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