North Korean state media Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that President Kim Jong Un conducted several military drills between September 25 and October 9 “for neutralizing the enemy's provocation to cope with the grave situation in the Korean Peninsula,” and “check and assess the war deterrent and nuclear counterattack capability of the country” in the face of security threats posed by the growing military alliance between the United States, Japan, and South Korea.
KCNA further confirmed that one of the missiles hit an islet, suspected to be an enemy military base, and signaled that North Korea is prepared to conduct more provocative tests in coming weeks.
Tests in response to security threats posed by the US and South Korea
KCNA reported that the U.S., based on an agreement to provide more intensive extended deterrence to south Korea against the DPRK's adoption of the law on the policy of state nuclear forces, brought the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan task force into the waters off the Korean Peninsula as the first demonstration on September 23 to stage joint naval drills with south Korea in the East Sea of Korea from September 26 to 29 and joint anti-submarine drills together with Japan and south Korea on September 30.
Viewing the drills as a military threat, North Korea decided to stage “the simulation of an actual war” to check and improve its war deterrence and send a warning to its enemies.
The launches — all supervised by Kim — included a nuclear-capable ballistic missile launched under a reservoir in the northeast; another ballistic missile also simulating the loading of tactical nuclear warheads designed to strike South Korean airfield; and a new-type ground-to-ground ballistic missile that flew over Japan, KCNA reported.
North Korea prepared for a sudden actual war
Congratulating the combat pilots and artillerymen for “fully displaying the excellent actual war capacity,” Kim Jong Un told KCNA that he was satisfied with the fact that they are fully prepared ideologically, morally, militarily and technologically so that they can positively and properly cope with a sudden actual war.
In his comments, he further condemned the US-South Korea-Japan led alliance for their “steady, intentional and irresponsible acts of escalating the tension,” and warned that such provocation “will only invite our greater reaction, and we are always and strictly watching the situation crisis.”
No room for dialogue
In the same vein, in his remarks to KCNA, he dismissed the possibility of dialogue until the alliances drop their hostile policies towards North Korea, in an apparent reference to regular US and South Korean military drills and US-led economic sanctions. “Saying that the enemies have still talked about dialogue and negotiation while posing military threats to us, but we have no content for dialogue with the enemies and felt no necessity to do so,” Kim was quoted as saying. “Above all, we should send a clearer signal to the enemies escalating the regional situation by involving the huge armed forces in any time with more powerful and resolute will and action.”
Some experts say Kim would eventually aim to use his advanced nuclear program to win a U.S. recognition of North Korea as a legitimate nuclear state, which Kim sees as essential in getting crippling U.N. sanctions on his country lifted.
“North Korea has multiple motivations for publishing a high-profile missile story now,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “Kim Jong Un’s public appearance after a month-long absence provides a patriotic headline to mark the founding anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party.”
“Pyongyang has been concerned about military exercises by the U.S., South Korea and Japan, so to strengthen its self-proclaimed deterrent, it is making explicit the nuclear threat behind its recent missile launches. The KCNA report may also be a harbinger of a forthcoming nuclear test for the kind of tactical warhead that would arm the units Kim visited in the field,” Easley said.
Against this backdrop, Kim Jong Un called on all the service personnel to more firmly arm themselves with the thoroughgoing view of principal enemy and Juche-based view of war and to defend as firm as a rock the frontline of the country and its sovereignty with matchless military strength and underlined the need for all the service personnel to be more fully ready for action in a “high alert posture” at all times, KCNA reported.
(With inputs from AP, KCNA)
