North Korea said on Thursday its latest missile launch mimicked a “scorched earth” nuclear attack on South Korea and that it was also rehearsing the occupation of its rival’s territory in the event of a conflict.
Pyongyang has previously tested nuclear-capable missiles and described how it would use them in a potential war with South Korea and the US. But North Korea’s disclosure of detailed war plans reaffirms its aggressive nuclear doctrine to intimidate its opponents, as it ramps up its objections to ongoing South Korea-US military exercises that it sees as a major security threat, observers said.
North Korea’s military said it fired two tactical ballistic missiles from the capital on Wednesday night to practice a “scorched earth attack” on its main command center and operational airfield in South Korea, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
The North’s military said the missiles carried out their simulated attacks via air bursts, suggesting it confirmed the detonation of a dummy warhead at a set height.
A composite photo taken on August 30, 2023 released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows a tactical nuclear-armed unit of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) firing two tactical ballistic missiles from Pyongyang International Airport. KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images
North Korea said its missile test was in response to the flyover of US B-1B long-range bombers for joint air exercises with South Korea earlier Wednesday as part of allied field exercises.
“(The air exercise) is a serious threat to (North Korea) because it only follows the scenario of a preemptive nuclear attack on” North Korea, the Korean People’s Army general staff said. “The KPA will not overlook the rash actions of the US military and (South Korean) military thugs.”
Wednesday’s missile launch was the latest in a spate of weapons tests by the North since last year.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (3rd R) inspects a training command post of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army (KPA), at an undisclosed location in North Korea.KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images
According to South Korean and Japanese assessments, the two short-range missiles traveled 225-250 miles at a maximum altitude of 30 miles before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff called the launch a “serious provocation” that threatens international peace and violates a UN Security Council resolution banning any ballistic launch by North Korea.
US Indo-Pacific Command said US commitment to the defense of South Korea and Japan remains “ironclad.”
People watch a news report on North Korea’s recent missile launch, at a station in Seoul, South Korea, on August 31, 2023. JEON HEON-KYUN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
South Korean and Japanese authorities said their respective warplanes conducted joint aerial exercises with US B-1B bombers on Wednesday.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday’s B-1B deployment was the 10th flyover by a US bomber on the Korean Peninsula this year.
North Korea is particularly sensitive to the deployment of US B-1B bombers, which can carry large numbers of conventional weapons.
A TV screen shows an image of a North Korean missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on August 31, 2023. AP
The North describes the bomber as “nuclear strategic” even though the aircraft were converted to conventional weapons in the 1990s.
On August 21, US and South Korean forces began their summer Ulchi Freedom Shield computer-simulated command post exercise.
During this year’s training, which is scheduled to end late Thursday, the allies have included more than 30 types of field exercises, such as Wednesday’s joint air exercise involving B-1B aircraft.
North Korea is calling for major military exercises involving the US on and near the Korean Peninsula in preparation for an invasion.
Officials in Washington and Seoul maintain their exercises are defensive.
The US has about 28,000 troops in South Korea.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters regarding North Korea’s ballistic missile launch at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo on August 31, 2023. JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images
KCNA said Kim on Tuesday visited a military post where his troops have held a command post exercise in response to South Korea-US military exercises.
It said the exercise was aimed at practicing procedures to “occupy the entire southern half” of the Korean Peninsula in the event of war.
Kim outlined the need to “deal a major blow to the enemy’s war potential and war command center and blind their means of command communication in the early stages of the operation.”
More people crowd around a television broadcasting a North Korean missile launch at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on August 31, 2023. AP
Kim also detailed the task of acquiring the ability to launch “simultaneous massive strikes” on key enemy military targets and other sites whose destruction could cause social and economic chaos, according to KNCA.
The North’s reports indicate it has operational plans to launch a full-scale attack on South Korea in the event of a military battle between the rivals to achieve forced Korean unification, said analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea.
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He said, North Korea plans to carry out a nuclear attack and EMP (electromagnetic pulse) in the early stages of the war.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said on Thursday it strongly condemned North Korea for publicly revealing its intention to attack the South.
It warned North Korea would only face “a favorable response” by South Korea, the US and Japan if it continued its provocations and military threats.
The ministry said it was the first report by North Korean state media of a command post exercise involving the entire military since Kim took power in late 2011.
North Korea has publicly threatened to use its nuclear weapons first in a potential conflict with South Korea and the US since last year adopted a new law allowing for the pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons in various situations.
Kim has gone to great lengths to expand and modernize his arsenal.
A second attempt to launch a spy satellite failed last week, but it plans a third attempt in October.
Foreign experts say Kim ultimately wants to use his enlarged arsenal to force the US to make concessions when diplomacy resumes.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
