North Fears 3 Major US Strategic Weapons [Yang Nakgyu's Defence Club]

B-1B Flight Scheduled on Oct 1 for Armed Forces Day
North Korea Condemns as "Proportional Response to Military Provocation"

North Korea condemned the deployment of the U.S. strategic bomber B-1B at the National Armed Forces Day event on the 1st as a "showy display of American military power" and threatened to "take thoroughly corresponding actions."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim Kang-il, Vice Minister of the North Korean Ministry of Defense, said in a statement distributed through the Korean Central News Agency on the same day that the deployment of the U.S. strategic bomber B-1B to South Korea is "nothing more than a hallucinogen to soothe the frustration of the lackeys who are suffering from chronic nuclear phobia, sleepless nights, and trying to maintain their military dignity, which has fallen into strategic inferiority in the Korean Peninsula region."

North Korea referred to the deployment of the B-1B to the Korean Peninsula and the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt's visit to Busan in June, emphasizing, "Our military is closely monitoring the frequent appearances and trajectories of U.S. strategic assets in the Korean Peninsula region and is fully prepared to thoroughly protect the nation's security environment from any threats."

Vice Minister Kim also issued a statement during the USS Theodore Roosevelt's visit to Busan in June, saying, "We fully keep open the possibility of overwhelming and new deterrence demonstrations and sternly condemn it with the strongest rhetorical expressions."

North Korea shows sensitive reactions whenever U.S. strategic assets are deployed to the Korean Peninsula. The three major U.S. strategic assets refer to intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), strategic nuclear submarines (SSBNs), and long-range bombers (B-52H and B-2A).

Key Strategic Assets: ICBMs, Nuclear Submarines, Long-Range Bombers

According to data released by the U.S. Department of Defense, up to 400 LGM-30G Minuteman-3 missiles have the fastest response speed among the three nuclear forces. Launched from ICBM silos (underground bunkers) in Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota, they reach North Korean airspace in about 30 minutes at speeds up to Mach 23. Basic specifications include a weight of 36 tons, diameter of 1.67 meters, three solid-fuel motors, a range of approximately 9,600 km, and speed of Mach 23.

Ohio-Class Submarines Carry Up to 20 SLBMs

The U.S. Department of Defense explained that the 14 Ohio-class (submerged displacement of 18,000 tons) strategic nuclear submarines (SSBNs) will be replaced by Columbia-class (28,100 tons) starting in early 2030. Due to the stealthy nature of submarines operating underwater, they have the highest survival probability among the three nuclear forces. The 14 Ohio-class submarines carry up to 20 SLBMs (Trident-2 D5) with eight warheads each, with an explosive yield of 100 kt (1 kt = equivalent to 1,000 tons of TNT). These missiles have a range of 13,000 km and each contains 8 to 12 independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs). Their power is known to be over 1,000 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during the Pacific War.

There are also bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons: 46 B-52H (Stratofortress) and 20 B-2A (Spirit). The B-52, which can carry nuclear weapons and precision-guided conventional weapons, is expected to remain in operation beyond 2040. It can perform strategic target strikes, close air support, air interception, air defense, and maritime operations. During the 1991 Gulf War, the coalition forces led by the U.S. Air Force dropped 40% of the weapons used in the Baghdad air raids (Operation Desert Storm) using B-52s.

B-52 Bombers Can Fly Over 10,000 km Without Aerial Refueling

Two B-52s can monitor 364,000 km of sea area in two hours. Once deployed, they can fly over 14,000 km without aerial refueling. During the Baghdad attack in September 1996, B-52s took off from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and flew 34 hours and 25,000 km round trip, which the U.S. Department of Defense described as the longest flight distance for a combat mission. On March 21, 2003, during the Iraq attack operation (Operation Iraqi Freedom), B-52 bombers launched 100 air-launched cruise missiles (CALCM) at night. Basic specifications include a wingspan of 56.4 meters, length of 12.4 meters, maximum takeoff weight of 219,000 kg, armament capacity of 31 tons, and speed of Mach 0.84.

The U.S. Department of Defense plans to replace the B-2A with the next-generation strategic bomber B-21 Raider starting in mid-2020. It is expected to carry new long-range stand-off (LRSO) cruise missiles and conventional bombs, and will be equipped with advanced active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and air-to-air missiles for self-defense. Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri is the only operational base for the B-2. On February 1, 2009, the operation mission of the B-2A was transferred to the Air Force's latest command, the Global Strike Command.

The U.S. Department of Defense stated, "The B-2 flew non-stop from the Missouri base to Kosovo and back, destroying 33% of targets in Serbia over eight weeks," and "flew the longest flight from Whiteman Base to Afghanistan to support enduring freedom operations."