2023-12-27 21:59:00
Kim Jong-un speaks at the 5th National Mothers’ Meeting in Pyongyang (KCNA via REUTERS)
Kim Jong-un ordered North Korea’s military, munitions industry and nuclear weapons sector to accelerate war preparations to confront what he called unprecedented “confrontational moves” by the United States, according to state media reported this Thursday.
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The United States sent long-range bombers last Wednesday for joint exercises with South Korea and Japan in a show of force against Pyongyang, days after the North Korean regime carried out its first test of intercontinental ballistic missiles in five months.
The trilateral training off Jeju Island in southern South Korea was aimed at strengthening the countries’ joint response against North Korea’s nuclear threats, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
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South Korean and Japanese B-1B bombers and fighter jets participated in the exercise, according to the statement. He said the B-1B flyby is the 13th time a U.S. bomber has been temporarily deployed near and over the Korean Peninsula this year.
A B-1B is capable of carrying a large payload of conventional weapons. North Korea had previously called the bomber deployment proof of American hostility and had reacted with missile tests.
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North Korea earlier Monday launched a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile into the sea in an exercise it said was intended as a warning about confrontational moves by the United States and South Korea.
US Air Force B-1B bombers and F-16 fighters, South Korean F-15K fighters and Japanese F-2 fighters fly over Jeju Island, in southern South Korea, during a joint exercise on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 (South Korean Defense Ministry via AP)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the launch showed how North Korea could respond if the United States made “a wrong decision against it.” But many foreign experts say North Korea still has technological hurdles to overcome to possess a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile that can reach the continental United States.
The North Korean dictator’s statement also takes place a day after South Korea hosted unusual joint exercises between the army and the police with the aim of maintaining its reaction capabilities in the face of potential threats from Pyongyang and other contingencies, at a time of growing tension with the neighboring country, which is refining its weapons.
It is unusual for a local government to organize defense exercises of this type on its own and this year’s maneuvers also featured on-the-ground maneuvers for the first time, in addition to the usual command post practices with computer simulations.
The exercises were held to verify the readiness and coordination of security forces in case of security crisis situations, such as drone infiltrations, at a time when North Korea is refining its nuclear weapons and missiles, and to take measures given the deficiencies, military sources indicated to the local Yonhap news agency.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who supervised the exercises, said security is a priority for the well-being of the population and promised to continue improving cooperation between security institutions to promote better preparedness.
Despite pressure from the international community, Kim Jong-un presses ahead with North Korea’s nuclear program (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
These types of field exercises are carried out in scenarios such as terrorist attacks on key installations, among others.
Today’s maneuvers take place just over a week after the North Korean regime tested an intercontinental ballistic missile, specifically one with the largest projectile in its current arsenal, and after having managed to put its first spy satellite into orbit, progress important in their weapons development.
Pyongyang has raised its belligerent tone toward Seoul and its ally Washington, and has been conducting a record volume of these tests.
Just today, the North Korean state news agency KCNA reported the start of an important meeting of the single party, chaired by leader Kim Jong-un, who highlighted the “great turn” that his country has taken in this field and of which expects clues to emerge about the direction of the territory’s foreign policy.
(With information from Archyde.com and EFE)
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