청 "Need to Analyze North Korean Missile Regulations by Integrating South Korea-US Intelligence"

Cheong Wa Dae Public Communication Secretary "Must Accurately Grasp North Korea's Intentions and Respond"... North Korea May Conduct Additional Provocations Including SLBM

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min, Military Specialist Yang Nak-gyu] The Blue House stated regarding North Korea's actions of mentioning the possibility of inter-Korean summits while simultaneously launching missiles, "It could be a prelude to a double standard or something similar. Our current attitude should be to accurately understand North Korea's intentions and respond accordingly."

Park Soo-hyun, the Blue House Chief of Public Communication, responded to a question about North Korea's intentions during a KBS radio interview on the 29th, saying, "What North Korea is doing should be viewed ambiguously as it includes closely intertwined messages directed at the U.S. and South Korea."

Park also said, "The implication cannot be seen in a simple O or X manner; it requires careful analysis," and emphasized that for improving inter-Korean relations, "responding to and connecting the communication lines is the first step."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, North Korea announced that it had newly developed and test-fired the ‘hypersonic missile Hwasong-8’. Regarding the evaluation of this weapon, Park said, "We need to complete a comprehensive and accurate analysis of the missile regulations announced by North Korea under the joint cooperation of South Korea and the U.S. before taking any stance."

He explained, "By synthesizing the information held by South Korea and the U.S., including launch range, speed, and altitude, a precise specification analysis is possible." Although North Korea boasted through the Korean Central News Agency that it "confirmed the stability of the newly introduced ampoule-type missile fuel system and engine," the Blue House withheld its evaluation.

North Korea names missiles using liquid fuel as ‘Hwasong’. Currently, North Korea has developed missiles using liquid fuel with extended range up to Hwasong-15.

The Blue House had plans to revive momentum for the Korean Peninsula peace process by sharing President Moon Jae-in’s achievements at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly this week. The flexible responses from related countries regarding the end-of-war declaration proposed by President Moon at the UN were also noted by the Blue House. However, North Korea’s missile launch dampened expectations for a peace mood.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, military experts have suggested that the reason the newly developed Hwasong series number regressed to 8 is because the liquid fuel was developed using a new method. Professor Kim Dong-yeop of the University of North Korean Studies analyzed, "The ampoule method mentioned by North Korea is a way to store liquid fuel for a long time through sealing, overcoming the inherent disadvantage of liquid fuel which requires fueling before missile launch."

Additionally, there is interest in whether North Korea will continue test-firing new missiles and engage in further military provocations. This month, North Korea announced a cruise missile with a range extended to 1500 km and a ballistic missile launched from a train. Experts analyze that if North Korea proceeds with additional provocations, attention should be paid to the weapons development plan announced by Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party, at the party congress last January.

At that time, General Secretary Kim announced plans to develop "hypersonic glide warheads, multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV), solid-fuel ballistic missiles of various ranges, and nuclear-powered submarine propulsion systems."

Shin Jong-woo, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defense and Security Forum (KODEF), predicted, "North Korea could conduct provocations by launching submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) along with the launching ceremony of a medium-sized submarine equipped with SLBM."

Meanwhile, North Korea held its second Supreme People's Assembly this year yesterday, but it was confirmed that General Secretary Kim did not attend and no messages directed at South Korea or foreign countries were announced.