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The United States and South Korea have accused North Korea of providing artillery shells and other equipment to Russia to help extend its war in Ukraine. Analysts say anti-aircraft missile technology is an area where North Korea could benefit from its deepening military cooperation with Russia, as the two countries align in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the U.S. The United States and South Korea have accused North Korea of providing artillery shells and other equipment to Russia to help extend its warfighting in Ukraine. While North Korea has demonstrated quick progress in expanding its lineup of land-based nuclear-capable missiles, experts say Kim’s naval ambitions may require significantly more time, resources and technology breakthroughs. Most of its aging, diesel-powered submarines can launch only torpedoes and mines, and experts say Kim’s stated pursuit of nuclear-propelled submarines is largely unfeasible without significant external assistance.
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The report Saturday by North Korean state media came a day after South Korea’s military said it detected the North launching multiple cruise missiles into waters off its western coast. 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. Last month the North also conducted tests of a long-range cruise missile, which it has described as nuclear-capable and can cover ranges of up to 1,240 miles, which would potentially put U.S. military bases in Japan within reach. The report in state media came a day after South Korea’s military said it detected the North firing several cruise missiles into waters off its western coast. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff did not provide more specific assessments, including the number of missiles fired or their flight characteristics.
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It said the South’s military detected multiple missiles but it did not immediately provide a specific number or an assessment of their flight characteristics. North Korea last Thursday issued a veiled threat to resume the testing of nuclear explosives and long-range missiles capable of targeting the American homeland, which leader Kim Jong Un suspended in 2018 while initiating diplomacy with the United States. One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules, said South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials were analyzing the launches, but didn't provide further details. Another military official, who requested anonymity for similar reasons, said the tests were conducted from an inland area, but didn't specify where.
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Missile-firing submarines would also add a maritime threat to the North’s growing collection of solid-fuel weapons fired from land vehicles that are designed to overwhelm the missile defenses of South Korea, Japan and the United States. Since 2021, North Korea has conducted at least 11 rounds of tests of what it described as long-range cruise missiles fired from both land and sea. Those cruise missile tests followed the Jan. 14 launch of a new solid-fuel intermediate-range missile, which underscored North Korean efforts to advance weapons that could target U.S. assets in the Pacific, including the military hub of Guam. Analysts say anti-aircraft missile technology is an area where North Korea could benefit from its deepening military cooperation with Russia, as the two countries align in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the U.S.
Tuesday's launches could have been follow-up tests of a weapon North Korea has described as a long-range cruise missile and first tested in September, said Kim Dong-yub, a professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies. North Korea has conducted a test on a “super-large warhead” designed for a strategic cruise missile, state media reports, adding that it also launched a new type of anti-aircraft missile. In response, the United States, South Korea and Japan have been expanding their combined military exercises, which Kim condemns as invasion rehearsals and uses as a pretext to further ramp up his military demonstrations.
North Korea’s Kim calls on military to ‘accelerate’ war preparations
Since its second nuclear test in 2009, Pyongyang has been under heavy international sanctions, but the development of its nuclear and weapons programmes has continued unabated. The weapons tests were part of the “regular activities of the administration and its affiliated defence science institutes”, KCNA reported, referencing the operation of “new-type weapon systems”. Kim had called the meeting to discuss a 10-year project he announced last week to promote more balanced regional development, which includes a goal of building modern factories in every county nationwide. South Korean experts and officials say Kim’s weapons drive has put further strain on a broken economy, decimated by decades of mismanagement and U.S.-led sanctions over his nuclear ambitions. The North has previously described the Hwasal-2 as nuclear-capable and that their range is up to 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles), a distance that would include U.S. military bases in Japan. Photos released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency showed at least two missiles being fired off launcher trucks at a runway.
North Korea says it tested 'super-large' cruise missile warhead and new anti-aircraft missile - Iosco County News Herald
North Korea says it tested 'super-large' cruise missile warhead and new anti-aircraft missile.
Posted: Sat, 20 Apr 2024 01:20:50 GMT [source]
North Korea says it has tested submarine-launched cruise missiles
Yang Uk, an analyst at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said North Korea is trying to highlight its diversifying arsenal of nuclear-capable weapons to increase pressure on rivals. But the recent displays of new weapons systems came amid a slowdown in tests of short-range ballistic missiles, which could indicate inventory shortages as North Korea continues its alleged arms transfers to Russia, Yang said. State media in reports at the time said the missiles were fired from launcher trucks and could strike targets 932 miles away.
North Korea says it tested 'super-large' cruise missile warhead, new anti-aircraft missile
The North’s two previous tests of cruise missiles on Jan. 24 and Jan. 28 were of a new weapon called Pulhwasal-3-31, which is designed to be fired from submarines. Following that weapon’s second launch on Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reiterated his goal of building a nuclear-armed navy to counter what he described as growing external threats. While halting the tests of nuclear devices and intercontinental range ballistic missiles, Kim Jong Un since 2019 has been ramping up tests of various shorter-range weapons apparently designed to overwhelm missile defenses in the region. Experts say the North's expanding missile arsenal reflects an aim to apply more pressure on its rivals to accept it as a nuclear power in hopes of winning relief from economic sanctions and convert the diplomacy with Washington into mutual arms-reduction negotiations. The report by North Korean state media came a day after South Korea’s military detected the North firing multiple cruise missiles into waters off its western coast, the third launch of such weapons this month. The event extended a provocative streak in weapons testing as North Korea continues to raise pressure on the United States and its Asian allies amid a prolonged freeze in diplomacy.
In theory, such capacity would bolster its deterrent by ensuring a survivable capability to retaliate after absorbing a nuclear attack on land. State media said the missiles were Pulhwasal-3-31, a new type of weapon first tested last week in land-based launches from North Korea’s western coast. The North on Jan. 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. In recent months, Kim has emphasized efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy to counter what he portrays as growing threats posed by the United States, South Korea and Japan, which have stepped up their military cooperation in response to his nuclear ambitions. Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the missiles flew a shorter distance than previous North Korean cruise missile launches, which he said suggested that the North was trying to improve the performance of existing systems. The U.S., South Korea and Japan in response have been expanding their combined military exercises, which Kim condemns as invasion rehearsals, and sharpening their deterrence strategies built around nuclear-capable U.S. assets.
One of the potential crisis points is the disputed western sea boundary between the Koreas, which has been the site of several bloody naval skirmishes over the years. While most analysts downplay Kim’s threats of war, some say there’s a possibility that he could attempt a direct military provocation in a limited scale that he can contain without letting it escalate into a full-blown war.
Kim Inae, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Unification Ministry, said it was the first time the ministry was aware of that state media reported on Kim Jong Un conducting a military inspection in Nampho. That could suggest an expansion of naval projects from the country’s eastern shipyard of Sinpo, which has been the North’s base for submarine construction. Kim did not provide a specific answer when asked whether Seoul believes the North is using Nampho for its efforts to build nuclear-powered submarines. U.S. and South Korean officials have accused North Korea of providing artillery shells, missiles and other supplies to Russia for its war in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for economic assistance and military technology. In recent years, North Korea has tested a variety of missiles designed to be fired from submarines as it pursues the ability to conduct nuclear strikes from underwater.
North Korea in recent years has been expanding its lineup of cruise missiles, which are designed to be fired from both land and naval assets. These weapons supplement the country’s huge lineup of ballistic missiles, including short-range solid-fuel missiles aimed at overwhelming missile defenses in South Korea and intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to reach the U.S. mainland. North Korea’s cruise missiles are among its growing arsenal of weapons aimed at overwhelming missile defenses in South Korea and Japan. They supplement the country’s huge lineup of ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to reach the U.S. mainland. They supplement the country’s vast lineup of ballistic missiles, including long-range weapons aimed at the continental United States. They supplement the North’s vast lineup of ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles aimed at the continental United States.
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