Is North Korea preparing for nuclear rearmament?
After the drone intrusion into the south and the removal of the number 2 of the military hierarchy, Kim has said he wants to increase North Korea's nuclear capabilities. Here are facts, comments and reactions
While continuing undeterred in its ballistics tests and its provocations against South Korea and Japan, North Korea fires the number two of its military hierarchy, Pak Jong Chon, second in the chain of command of the mighty war machine only to Kim Jong-un .
Removal without explanation
News of Pak's removal was reported in state media. Vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party and secretary of the Central Committee, Pak, the official KCNA news agency reported, was replaced by Ri Yong Gil at the committee's annual meeting held last week.
No reason for the defenestration was given by the same sources. But, CNN points out, Pak was seen on TV during the meeting sitting with his head down while the other Party members raised their arms participating in the voting operations. Later the same state television station framed his empty chair.
Pak, CNN adds, was also absent from the photos released Monday by KCNA of dictator Kim's New Year's visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun where the remains of Kim's grandfather and father, his predecessors at the helm of the country, are buried. This was not the case during the visit last October, when, in the context of a Party anniversary, Pak accompanied Kim to the same place.
Although, CNN continues, Pyongyang frequently alternates its leaders, typically taking advantage of the most important Party meetings to carry out the changes, Pak's removal took everyone by surprise as it apparently lacked motivation.
North Korea's drone intrusion into South Korea
According to Oh Gyeong-sup, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, Pak's replacement would not seem entirely unjustified, and would be due to a serious episode that occurred last week: the intrusion into South Korean territory of some drones that triggered one of the most serious alarms in recent months . "Pak may have taken responsibility for the failure of security operations," is the theory aired by Oh on CNN .
Last Monday, five drones from the North crossed the 38th parallel while wandering the southern skies for a long time. The South Korean military spotted them near the northwestern city of Gimpo around 10.25 in the morning. Four drones flew around Ganghwa Island while the other reached the northern part of Seoul's airspace.
One of the drones hovered over the South for over three hours before returning to base, while the other four disappeared later in the day. In total, the raid lasted at least five hours, according to the South Korean military.
“Exponential increase” in nuclear capabilities
This is a time of high tension between the North and its neighbors. On New Year's Eve last Sunday, which coincided with the closing of a Party plenary session, Kim Jong-un announced that he was aiming for an "exponential increase" in the country's nuclear weapons arsenal in response to what are considered threats from the South and the USA.
In his speech, Kim underlined that South Korea has become an "indubitable enemy" and that its main ally, the US, has increased the level of pressure on the North "to the maximum" following the continuous joint military exercises between the of Seoul and Washington.
In response, the marshal said, Pyongyang will increase the pace of production of tactical nuclear weapons and develop a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which will give the North a "rapid response capability".
Interviewed by the Associated Press , Soo Kim, an expert at the RAND Corporation, explained that Kim's mention of hostile policies by the South and the United States represents a "credible pretext for the regime to produce more missiles and weapons in order to (…) consolidate North Korea's nuclear power status” or, alternatively, “to strengthen Kim's negotiating position” should new negotiations open.
New Year's tests
Just so as not to miss anything, North Korea carried out its 37th and 38th ballistics tests of 2022 on Saturday and Sunday respectively, thus capping what was the year in which the North carried out the most tests that throughout its history .
As Pyongyang itself said, both tests involved an unprecedented 600mm multiple rocket launcher (MRL) system. As CNN notes, most MRLs in service around the world have a 300mm caliber.
The new North Korean system was introduced three years ago and production has continued on a beating drum ever since. Speaking at the same Party plenary session on Saturday, Kim announced that thirty new MRLs would be added to the army's arsenal immediately.
As Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, told AP , the two weekend tests are not significant in themselves from a technical point of view, but "the high volume of tests with its unusual timing and the different places from which they were conducted, demonstrate that North Korea is capable of launching different types of attacks, at any time and from any direction”.
The reaction of South Korea and the USA
The latest moves by the Pyongyang regime have infuriated South Korea which, on Sunday, reiterated through its Defense Ministry the warning that any use by North Korea of nuclear weapons "will lead to the end of the government by Kim Jong-un".
"The new year has begun but our security situation is still very serious", were the words addressed by the President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol to the high military hierarchies connected by videoconference. "Our army," added Yoon, "must resolutely and with firm determination punish any provocation by the enemy."
For its part, Washington has not remained inert in the face of the escalation by the Northern regime. The US recently transferred assets such as F-22 fighter jets and B-1 bombers to the Korean peninsula to participate in joint exercises with the South.
Furthermore, as CNN reports, the Space Force Command on foreign soil was activated for the first time with a new dedicated unit. According to what the US armed forces in Korea have announced, the new unit will have the task of "coordinating space operations and activities such as missile warnings, navigation position and satellite communications within the region".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/la-corea-del-nord-si-sta-preparando-al-riarmo-nucleare/ on Tue, 03 Jan 2023 07:32:40 +0000.