North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is pushing scientists to put nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles for a potentially imminent war with the USA, according to reports.
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North Korean state television on Thursday showed video clips of the launch of a missile from underwater at dawn, and still photographs of Kim on the dock at a port as a large crane unloaded an object onto a submarine. It flew about 300 miles before falling into the sea inside Japan’s air defense identification zone, the area in which Tokyo controls aircraft movement.
North Korea is “bolstering” its “nuclear attack capability hour by hour” due to threats the USA mainland and military presence in the Pacific present, according to the state-run media.
One image shows him watching with binoculars, while others capture him smiling as officials applaud. But Japanese experts also said Pyongyang could have its SLBM system in place by 2020, given Wednesday’s success, implying that Japan, the United States and South Korea could face more nuclear threats from the defiant hermit nation.
Pyongyang’s KCTV aired brief footage shot from different camera angles, showing the missile soaring from underwater, igniting and surging nearly vertically into the air.
“He noted with pride that the results of the test-fire proved in actuality that the DPRK joined the front rank of the military powers fully equipped with nuclear attack capability”. Concerned that the drills are preparations for a possible invasion of North Korea, Kim threatened to launch a “nuclear strike” against the “nuclear war maniacs” for the “slightest sign of aggression”.
Thursday marks the anniversary of the “Military First” policy initiated by Kim Jong Un’s father, the late Kim Jong Il, and the priority position the military continues to enjoy in North Korea was on full display.
“He appreciated the test-fire as the greatest success and victory”.
In a direct jab at Seoul and Washington, which are holding a 12-day joint military exercise, Kim warned them to refrain “from hurting the dignity and security of the DPRK with prudence and self-control”, and warned that “rash acts will only precipitate their self-destruction”.
Pyongyang had been threatening to vent its fury over the exercises – and over South Korea’s decision to host a USA anti-missile unit – so Wednesday’s launch did not exactly come as a surprise.
The military has also clearly been trying to advance its ballistic missile program, conducting a series of land- and sea-based tests over the a year ago. The South Korean military reportedly regards the test launch as basically being a success. “The most they could do is probably launch guerilla-like attacks for now”, he said.
The deployment of THAAD has been seen as driving a wedge against efforts to maintain a concerted response to North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile programs.
According to the country’s official news agency KCNA, Kim supervised the test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons development programs have brought heavy global sanctions down on its head, but it says they are justified because of the threat posed by the US and South Korea.
The latest launch was widely condemned.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, said North Korea’s defiance of the worldwide community’s “united call” to reverse course was “deeply troubling”.
“Not only are such actions a clear violation of relevant Security Council resolutions, but they also undermine peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula”, he said, urging North Korea to return to denuclearization talks.
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South Korea’s Yonhap news agency cited a military source as saying Wednesday’s launch had been made at an acute angle to limit the missile’s range.
