The country will “strengthen and develop” its nuclear forces at “the highest possible” speed, Kim said, while the Hwasong-17 ICBM, numerous giant missile launchers and a submarine-launched ballistic missile paraded through the streets of the North Korean capital.
Experts say the parade, marking the 90th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean military, offers a glimpse of Kim’s ambitions for his weapons program, especially in his efforts to develop solid-fuel missiles that would be easier to hide. from foreign spy agencies. It also offers a look at his thinking, they said.
Any country or force that tries to confront North Korea militarily will “cease to exist,” Kim said, describing its nuclear forces as “a symbol of national power and the foundation of our military power.”
“True peace can be trusted with national dignity and national sovereignty can be guaranteed by a powerful self-defense force that can defeat the enemy,” Kim said in a statement issued by the state’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
He said his nuclear mission’s first mission was “to stop the war”, but if anyone tried to take away our country’s core interests, our nuclear forces would have no choice but to carry out their second mission. He did not specify what this second mission would be.
Attractive
Among the most attractive weapons at the show was the Hwasong-17, touted by Pyongyang as one of its greatest military achievements to date.
North Korea says it successfully tested the missile in March, with a report in its state media at the time, describing the launch as a “powerful deterrent to nuclear war” and citing Kim as “fully prepared” for any potential military confrontation with the United States. .
The ICBM could, at least in theory, put the entire continental United States within range of a North Korean nuclear warhead, but analysts say there are questions about whether the missile could deliver nuclear payload to the target.
In fact, the United States and South Korea have even disputed North Korea’s claims that it launched the Hwasong-17, suggesting that the March 24 launch was in fact a test of the older and slightly smaller Hwasong-15, a missile first tested in 2017. d.
A look at Kim’s ambitions
According to experts, Kim’s parade and speech said a lot about the country’s ambitions, both in terms of weapons development and diplomatic priorities.
Ankit Panda, a nuclear weapons expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said photos from the parade suggested the presence of three as-yet-untested solid-fuel missiles.
“Kim put ICBM on solid fuel on his wish list at the 8th Party Congress in January 2021. So we won’t be shocked if one of them is tested in time,” Panda tweeted.
Solid propellant missiles are considered more advanced than liquid propellants because they can be transported more easily – which means they are easier to cover up from the enemy – and can be prepared to be launched faster.
Jeffrey Lewis, a weapons expert and professor at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies, said in March after the Hwasong-17 test that the North Korean leader had “marched” through a long list of weapon upgrades set out more than a year ago.
“(Kim) said these are all things that North Korea will do, which include ICBMs with many warheads, ICBMs with solid fuel, launching a military satellite and even launching a nuclear-powered submarine into the sea,” Lewis said.
“I don’t think he’ll stop until this list is complete,” Lewis said.
Earlier, North Korea announced plans to increase the accuracy of its missiles and increase the range to 15,000 kilometers (9,320 miles).
“I think we are firmly in a period of missile tests, nuclear tests and tensions that will probably last about a year,” Lewis said.
The meaning of a man in uniform
In addition to the weapons on display, analysts said the parade offered other insights into Kim’s state of mind.
Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute, a private South Korean think tank, said it was important that Kim wore a military uniform for his speech.
This may symbolize that Kim will respond with “strong force” in the future to (the future president of South Korea) Yun Suk Yel’s administration’s tough policy toward North Korea, which sees North Korea as its “main enemy” and promises to be prepared with the possibility of a “preventive strike”, Cheong said.
Some, including Panda, have suggested that Kim’s statements do not show a fundamental change in position.
“North Korea has always said it hopes to deter (or) invade its territory, but would use weapons to blunt the invading force if necessary,” Panda wrote on Twitter.
Yang Mu-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, meanwhile, said Kim’s rhetoric on Monday was relatively soft – as far as Pyongyang is concerned.
“There was no direct mention of South Korea or the United States, and although there is a mention of nuclear power, there are no extreme expressions, so North Korea seems to have tried to control the level of intensity this time,” Young said.
Add Comment