North Korea on Friday extended a series of provocative weapons tests, including firing a cruise missile into the sea, as leader Kim Jong Un called on the military to step up war preparations and toured a shipyard. .
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the U.S. and South Korean militaries were analyzing North Korea’s launch into the West Sea.
The newspaper said the South Korean military had detected multiple missiles, but did not immediately provide a specific number or an assessment of the flight situation.
The launch, North Korea’s fourth cruise missile test in 2024, came as Kim toured unspecified naval projects at a shipyard in Nampo on the west coast and reiterated his focus on strengthening its naval power. This came hours after state media reported that.
In recent months, Mr. Kim has emphasized efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy to counter growing external threats from the United States, South Korea, and Japan, which are stepping up military cooperation to counter Mr. Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile programs. . .
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency did not say when Kim visited Nampo. Paraphrasing Kim’s statement, the newspaper said that strengthening the navy “has become the most important task in ensuring the country’s maritime sovereignty and strengthening war preparations.”
KCNA did not specify the type of warship being built in Nampo, but said it was related to a five-year military development plan drawn up at the ruling party’s congress in early 2021.
In these talks, Mr. Kim unveiled an extensive wish list of advanced military assets, including nuclear submarines and underwater-launchable nuclear missiles.
During the inspection, Kim was briefed on the progress of the naval project and remaining technical issues, and told the workers that the work would be completed “unconditionally” within the planned period of 2025, according to the Korean Central News Agency. He is said to have ordered him to do so.
Kim In-hye, a spokeswoman for South Korea’s Unification Ministry, said the ministry first learned that state media reported that Kim Jong Un was conducting a military inspection in Nampo.
This could signal an expansion of naval projects from the Sinpo shipyard in the country’s east, which is North Korea’s submarine building base.
Asked whether South Korea believes North Korea is using Nampo to build nuclear submarines, Kim did not give a specific answer.
“By normalizing military threats, North Korea creates a sense of insecurity among the South Korean people, undermines trust in its government, attracts international attention, and accepts North Korea’s demands to resolve the South Korean crisis. “We’re trying to create an atmosphere that has to be on the peninsula,” she said.
South Korea’s military announced Friday that its special operations forces have completed 10 days of training with U.S. Green Berets near the capital, Seoul, in the coalition’s latest joint military exercise.
Over the past few months, countries have been conducting large-scale exercises, including trilateral exercises in which Japan also participates.
Kim Jong-un also called for naval power on Sunday as he inspected a test of a new nuclear-capable cruise missile, the Purwasar 3-31, designed to be launched from submarines.
North Korea also conducted a long-range cruise missile test last month. The missile is nuclear-capable and has a range of up to 1,240 miles, potentially including US military bases in Japan.
North Korea has shown rapid progress in expanding its lineup of land-based nuclear-armed missiles, but experts say Kim’s naval ambitions may require even more significant time, resources and technological advancements. It is pointed out that there is.
Most of the aging diesel-powered submarines can only fire torpedoes and mines, and experts say Kim’s stated pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines will be nearly impossible without significant outside support. There is.
North Korean military scientists and engineers have made progress in recent months on Kim’s list of goals for 2021, testing a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-18, for the first time last year. Continental United States.
North Korea also tested a new solid-fuel medium-range missile on January 14, underscoring its progress in developing weapons capable of targeting US assets in the Pacific, including the military base of Guam.
North Korea also plans to launch three more military reconnaissance satellites in 2024, after putting its first into orbit in November. Kim has said that reconnaissance from space is essential for monitoring U.S. and South Korean military activities and escalating the threat of nuclear capabilities. missile.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have reached their highest point in years, with Kim accelerating weapons development at an unprecedented pace while making provocative nuclear threats against the United States, South Korea and Japan.
In response, the United States and its Asian allies have stepped up joint military exercises and updated their deterrence strategies.
There are concerns that Mr. Kim, emboldened by steady progress in his nuclear arsenal and strengthened ties with Russia, will step up pressure on his rivals in an election year in the United States and South Korea.
Experts say Mr. Kim’s long-term goal is to get the United States to accept the idea of North Korea as a nuclear power and negotiate security concessions and sanctions relief from a position of strength.
While most analysts downplay Kim’s war threat, some believe that Kim could attempt a direct military provocation that could be contained without escalating into a full-blown conflict. Point out that there is a possibility.
One potential crisis point is the disputed Western Maritime Border between South Korea, the site of several bloody naval skirmishes in the past few years.
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