[Yang Nak-gyu's Defense Club] North Korea Fires 3+ Missiles... Possible Precision Strike Training

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] North Korea launched three short-range projectiles into the East Sea again on the 9th. This comes just five days after North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un sent a letter to President Moon Jae-in on the 4th, conveying his condolences to the people in the South who are fighting against the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, "At around 7:36 a.m. today, more than three types of short-range projectiles were detected from the Seondeok area in South Hamgyong Province, North Korea, toward the northeast over the East Sea," adding, "Considering that multiple types of projectiles were launched, this launch is presumed to be a training exercise aimed at improving the accuracy of the projectiles."

The three projectiles launched by North Korea on this day flew up to a maximum distance of 200 km and reached an altitude of 50 km. The interval between the first and second launches was 20 seconds, and the interval between the second and third launches was about one minute.

On the 2nd, North Korea also launched two super-large multiple rocket launchers near Wonsan, showcasing 240mm-class rockets and conducting joint strike drills.

The possibility of new weapons cannot be ruled out. North Korea's new weapon four-set includes a new tactical guided missile (tactical guided weapon, North Korean version of Iskander), a new large-caliber guided multiple rocket launcher, the North Korean version of ATACMS, and super-large multiple rocket launchers. North Korea has launched each four times, twice, twice, and four times respectively.

The multiple rocket launchers fired by North Korea on the 2nd were 600mm-class super-large multiple rocket launchers. Multiple rocket launchers are multiple launch tubes bundled together, firing several shells simultaneously toward a target. North Korea is judged to have practically deployed them in actual combat by conducting joint strike drills with 240mm-class multiple rocket launchers.

Our military plans to expand the defense area of the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system and further strengthen missile interception capabilities in response to the increasing missile threat from North Korea.

According to the Ministry of National Defense's recently announced '2020?2024 Defense Mid-term Plan,' the military plans to secure the ability to detect North Korean missiles coming from all directions by adding two ballistic missile early warning radars (with detection ranges over 800 km) and Aegis destroyer radars (SPY-1D).

Additionally, the military will upgrade and deploy Patriot and Cheolmae-II systems, complete the development of long-range surface-to-air missiles (L-SAM) to secure interception capabilities against North Korea's new short-range ballistic missiles, and expand precision-guided munitions launched from ground, naval vessels, submarines, and fighter jets to strike strategic targets such as North Korea's nuclear and missile facilities.

The Blue House stated regarding North Korea's launch of three short-range projectiles into the East Sea on this day that it is "an act that does not help efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula." From 8:15 a.m., the Blue House held an emergency meeting of related ministers via the National Security Communication Network, chaired by Chung Eui-yong, Director of the National Security Office.

The video conference included Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon. The Blue House particularly noted, "The related ministers pointed out again that North Korea's continued large-scale joint strike drills on February 28 and March 2 do not help efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula."