Targeting ROK-US Joint Exercises as an "Irreversible Threat"
Daughter Kim Juae Attends... ICBM Earth Photos Released
Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, personally directed and observed an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch drill aimed at the South Korea-Japan summit. He clearly expressed his intention to continue provocations, stating that the ongoing joint South Korea-US exercises, which run until the 23rd, will "make them realize an irreversible threat."
According to the Korean Central News Agency on the 17th, after observing the launch drill of the ICBM 'Hwasong-17' the previous day, Chairman Kim evaluated it as "once again clearly demonstrating confidence and assurance in the operational systems of our increasingly advanced nuclear strategic forces." His second daughter, Kim Ju-ae, was also present during the on-site guidance.
Kim Jong-un: "We must instill fear in our enemies by strengthening nuclear war deterrence"... Observes ICBM [Image source=Yonhap News]
He added, "There is no change in our direction and line of activity to cope with the prospective national security environment and the threats from enemies," emphasizing, "We must instill fear in the enemies through an irreversible strengthening of nuclear war deterrence, effectively deter actual war, and reliably guarantee our people's peaceful life and the struggle for socialist construction."
In particular, Chairman Kim stated, "The more the anti-Republic military provocations continue and expand, the more they will be made to realize the irreversible threat approaching them has reached a severe level." This 'policy of countering the enemy' is interpreted as a stance to continue military measures in response to the South Korea-US joint exercises.
The news agency explained the ICBM launch as being conducted "under the severe situation where the most unstable security environment is being created in the Korean Peninsula region due to the provocative and aggressive large-scale war exercises by the United States and the South Korean puppet authorities." Additionally, photos showing the ICBM looking down at the Earth from space were released, demonstrating confidence in the strike capability.
Kim Jong-un: "We must instill fear in our enemies by strengthening nuclear war deterrence"... Observes ICBM [Image source=Yonhap News]
Jung Sung-jang, head of the Unification Strategy Research Office at the Sejong Institute, pointed out, "North Korea justifies their ICBM launch drill as a response to the high-intensity South Korea-US joint exercises." He added, "The release of Earth photos taken from the ICBM seems to flaunt their ability to accurately strike desired targets," and analyzed, "It is expected that they will move toward launches at normal angles in the future."
Meanwhile, the South Korean military detected one long-range ballistic missile launched by North Korea from the Pyongyang Sunan area toward the East Sea at around 7:10 a.m. the previous day, ahead of the South Korea-Japan summit. The missile, launched at a high angle, flew approximately 1,000 km before landing in the East Sea, according to a Joint Chiefs of Staff official. This marks the sixth missile provocation this year, and the ICBM launch comes one month after the 'Hwasong-15' was launched at a high angle on the 18th of last month.
Han Dae-sung, North Korean Ambassador to the Geneva Mission, stated at the first plenary session of the UN Disarmament Conference on the 16th (local time), "The United States and South Korea have started large-scale joint exercises this week, conducting unprecedentedly aggressive and provocative war drills using the latest military equipment," and claimed, "The recent launch drills are efforts to respond to provocations that seriously threaten North Korea's security interests and to establish overwhelming war deterrence."
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