With tensions high and the United States and South Korea preparing to hold their massive annual wargames, Pyongyang is warning it will respond to any violations of its territory with merciless retaliation, including strikes on Seoul and the USA mainland itself.
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The North has issued belligerent statements nearly daily since coming under a new United Nations resolution adopted this month to tighten sanctions against it after a nuclear test in January and the launch of a long-range rocket last month.
“I suspect we may finally see a KN-08 test – a test of its re-entry vehicle without a nuclear warhead”, said Melissa Hanham, an expert on North Korea’s WMD programme at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California. Relations between South Korea and China have not fared well since North Korea’s series of military provocations, which prompted discussions between Seoul and Washington on Thaad’s deployment.
The test had provided a “sure guarantee for the reliability of the inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) warhead re-entry”, Kim was quoted as saying by the North’s official KCNA news agency on Tuesday.
Kim noted that by acquiring the re-entry technology, the DPRK has made great progress in ballistic rocket technology, which strengthens the country’s defense capability and the munition industry.
The North likewise claims though that’s never been tested the satellites it’s released into orbit are working effectively. North Korea has claimed an enormous nuclear capability for years, but beyond a few underground tests their capabilities are unclear, and most doubt they have a deliverable weapon.
Thanks to activists in South Korea who can filter the news of Darusman’s report into the reclusive northern neighbor, Ahn said, “the North Korean people inside will know more about their own situation, that their leader is not good anymore, that he is a liar to his people”.
Last Friday, the North said Kim had ordered more nuclear tests, though it did not give a time frame.
Following the tests, South Korea shut down the joint Kaesong industrial park which is a crucial source of funding for the fragile North Korean economy.
Some analysts believe that the latest string of threats will add to speculation that the North could be preparing for yet another nuclear test. The UN Security Council condemned the launch as it was viewed across the globe as a step forward in testing the reach of nuclear missiles.
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Back in January, persecution watchdog group Open Doors listed North Korea as the worst country for Christians in the world in its 2016 Worth Watch List.
