North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed the test of the weapon that will increase the “operational effectiveness of tactical nuclear weapons,” state media said.
North Korea has been testing a new weapons system that will increase the effectiveness of its tactical nuclear weapons, state media said Sunday.
Read alsoNorth Korea – United States: Act II of a Nuclear Talk
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed the testing of the new tactical guided weapon that will increase the firepower of the long-range artillery and increase the “the effective operation of North Korean (People’s Democratic Republic of Korea) tactical nuclear weapons and the diversification of their firepower missions”the KCNA news agency said without specifying the exact date of these test firings.
The South Korean Armed Forces Headquarters said it had detected two projectiles launched late Saturday that flew a distance of 110 km at a height of 25 km at a speed of about Mach 4. The United States said it was “aware.” were” of the North Korean statement on the test and that they were monitoring the situation, a Pentagon spokesman said.
Photos published by the Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed Kim smiling, surrounded by uniformed officials and cheering as he watched what was described as the weapon’s test fire. The leader gave the military investigation team “important instructions for the further strengthening of defense capabilities and nuclear forces”the KCNA agency added.
Ballistic Short Range Missile
Analysts say the weapon is a new, but no less important, short-range ballistic missile. “This test of a tactical nuclear delivery device comes amid growing evidence of massive reconstruction efforts at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea,” said Ankit Panda, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Satellite images have shown signs of new activity in a tunnel at the Punggye-ri site, which North Korea says was demolished in 2018 ahead of the first Trump-Kim summit. North Korea Friday celebrated the 110th birthday of North Korea’s founding leader, Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, with a huge public procession, fireworks and synchronized dancing — but no military parade as predicted by many observers.
South Korean and US analysts and officials had also believed that a nuclear test was possible on this important anniversary. The celebrations came three weeks after Pyongyang’s largest-ever intercontinental ballistic missile test, a first since 2017. At a key party conference in January 2021, Kim presented a five-year defense development plan, calling for the development of superior nuclear technology and manufacturing. of smaller and lighter nuclear weapons for “more tactical applications”.
The comments hint at a return to nuclear testing, and Kim’s rare presence at the launch of a short-range missile, a first in more than two years, suggests “special significance,” Panda said.
Heading for a seventh attempt?
Last month’s test marked the end of a self-imposed moratorium on long-range and nuclear tests, which had been suspended after Kim met with then-US President Donald Trump. Officials and analysts say North Korea could conduct its seventh nuclear test in the coming weeks.
Satellite images showed signs of new activity in a tunnel at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, which North Korea says was demolished in 2018 ahead of the first Trump-Kim summit. North Korea has tested nuclear weapons six times since 2006, praising the success of its latest and most powerful in 2017, a hydrogen bomb with an estimated yield of 250 kilotons.
With a new nuclear test, experts believe Pyongyang will try to miniaturize the warheads mounted on its intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). South Korean officials have said Pyongyang could still hold a military parade or conduct a weapons test on or about April 25, the anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army.
This anniversary coincides with joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington, which begin Monday. South Korea and the United States regularly hold military exercises, but Pyongyang has regularly protested these exercises by denouncing preparations for war.
