[Correspondent Diary] "North Korea Loves America's National Holidays"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] The upcoming Monday, May 30 (local time), the last Monday of May, is Memorial Day in the United States, equivalent to a day of honoring fallen soldiers. Originally established on May 30, 1965, as Decoration Day to commemorate the soldiers who died during the American Civil War by placing flowers on their graves, it has since changed after World War I to honor all those who died in wars and various military operations.

For Americans, the timing as the last week of May also marks the start of summer vacations, with many heading to their hometowns or summer resorts. It is also a period when large-scale Memorial Day sales take place both online and offline. This year, various offline events that had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to resume. A representative event is the Memorial Day parade held from near the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC to the White House.

There is another country that pays as much attention to U.S. holidays like Memorial Day as its own citizens do: North Korea. Since 1984, North Korea has conducted nuclear tests and missile launches 21 times on U.S. holidays. Among these, Memorial Day stands out as the most frequent occasion, with seven incidents.

As Memorial Day approaches this year, voices predicting the possibility of North Korea conducting a nuclear test are increasing. Victor Cha, Vice President of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a U.S. think tank, wrote on the 26th (local time) in an article titled "North Korean Provocations During U.S. Holidays" that "North Korea has shown a pattern of disrupting major U.S. holidays," and "It seems highly likely that North Korea will conduct a nuclear test during the week of the upcoming U.S. Memorial Day (May 30)."

He added, "There were many predictions that North Korea's seventh nuclear test was imminent ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden's first Asia tour, but it was completed safely," and "So when should we expect North Korea's nuclear test? According to our satellite image analysis, the third tunnel at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site is almost ready."

Victor Cha, who served as the Director for Asian Affairs at the White House National Security Council (NSC) during the George W. Bush administration, also mentioned at a CSIS-hosted forum earlier, "We expect to see North Korea's military provocations during the Memorial Day weekend," adding, "North Korea loves U.S. national holidays."

According to Vice President Cha, North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile on September 1, 1984, just before the U.S. Labor Day on September 3, and has continued provocations 21 times on major U.S. holidays since then. The most recent was a short-range missile launch on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 17 this year. Before Thanksgiving on November 28, 2019, a short-range missile was launched, and on September 4, 2017, the day before Labor Day, North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test.

Memorial Day, equivalent to a day of honoring fallen soldiers, is one of the U.S. national holidays on which North Korea has frequently conducted missile provocations. Missile tests were conducted seven times in total on Memorial Day in 1990, twice in 1993, 1997, 2007, 2009, and 2017. This is why diplomatic circles in South Korea and the U.S. are closely watching North Korea ahead of Memorial Day.

Following Memorial Day, the U.S. holiday with the most frequent North Korean provocations is Labor Day, the first Monday of September. Around July 4, Independence Day, provocations occurred three times in 2017, 2009, and 2006. On July 4, 2017, North Korea conducted a test launch of the ICBM-class 'Hwasong-14' and referred to it as a "gift."