SEOUL: North Korea said on Sunday it had test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile as a warning to Washington and Seoul, saying the successful “stunning” exercise prompted Pyongyang’s “deadly nuclear counterattack”. Ability” demonstrated.
Leader Kim Jong Un ordered a “sudden launching drill” at 8 a.m. (2300 GMT) on Saturday and fired a Hwasong-15 missile – a weapon first tested by the North in 2017 – from Pyongyang’s airport that afternoon. fired, JEE News reported.
South Korea’s military said it detected an ICBM launch at 17:22 (0822 GMT) on Saturday, which Japan said flew for 66 minutes before falling in its exclusive economic zone. , their analysis indicates that it is capable of hitting the mainland United States.
JEE News said North Korea’s leadership praised the test – the country’s first in seven weeks – saying it “demonstrated the actual combat capability of ICBM units that are mobile and ready for a strong counterattack”.
It added that the launch was a “real proof” of the country’s “capability of a lethal nuclear counterattack against enemy forces”.
The lifting of sanctions comes just days before Seoul and Washington are set to begin joint tabletop exercises aimed at improving their response in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack.
Pyongyang warned last week of an “unprecedented” harsh response to the upcoming drills, which it describes as preparations for war and is responsible for the deteriorating security situation on the Korean Peninsula.
New milestone?
US-based analyst Ankit Panda told JEE News that Saturday’s test was important because “the event was ordered on a day-to-day basis and is therefore not a traditional ‘test’ but an exercise.”
“We should expect to see additional exercises of this type,” he added.
The exercise was “Kim’s way of telling the US and the ROK that his country is improving its ballistic missile capabilities for eventual use in a real-time scenario,” said Soo Kim, a former CIA official. Korean analysts who now work in management. Consulting firm LMI.
“Weapons are not just for show,” he told JEE News. “This layer is likely intended to intimidate allies, particularly as they make efforts to strengthen deterrence on the Korean Peninsula.”
But the nine-hour process from Kim Jong-un’s order to the actual launch was “a long time,” he said, adding that Pyongyang could face “more challenges in launching in a realistic scenario.”
Relations between the two Koreas are already at their lowest point in years after North Korea declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state and leader Kim called for a “dramatic” increase in weapons production, including Tactical nukes.
In response, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yul has sought to boost cooperation with the United States, a key security ally, pledging to increase joint military exercises and improve Washington’s so-called extended deterrence offer, including With nuclear assets.
On Sunday, North Korea’s spokeswoman and Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, claimed that it was these moves by Seoul and Washington that “make the situation more dangerous every moment, According to a report”.
“I warn that we will watch the enemy’s every move and retaliate very forcefully against his every move,” she added.
Food shortages?
Ewha University professor Park Won-Gon told JEE News that all of this “points to the beginning of provocations of extreme severity by North Korea.”
What’s different about 2022, he said, is that last year his justification was that the launches were part of his five-year military plan.
“Now they are making it clear that they will take on the US and South Korea.”
A redoubled aggression by Pyongyang could also indicate that the domestic situation has deteriorated, Park said. South Korean officials recently warned that the country could face severe food shortages after years of isolation linked to the pandemic.
“North Korea has always taken a hard line and created external crises as its ‘mindset capture’ tactic to overcome internal conflict. Unifying the people by highlighting the threat of South Korea-U.S. This is normal North Korean behavior.”
