Kim Jong Un: "Advancing Nuclear Deterrence... The Necessity Is Explained by a Series of International Events"

Conscious of Maduro's Arrest and Extradition?

On January 4, Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, commented on the hypersonic missile launch drill, stating, "Without concealment, it is clear that our activities are aimed at gradually enhancing our nuclear war deterrence capability," and added, "The recent geopolitical crisis and multiple international events explain why this is necessary." His remarks are interpreted as being conscious of the U.S. airstrike on Venezuela and the attempted arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

According to a report by the Korean Central News Agency on January 5, hypersonic missiles launched northeastward from the Ryokpo District in Pyongyang on January 4 struck set targets along the 1,000-kilometer line over the East Sea. This was the first such launch this year and the third since the inauguration of the Lee Jaemyung administration, with Chairman Kim observing the launch in person.

Yonhap News Agency

Previously, the Joint Chiefs of Staff also announced that they had detected several ballistic missiles launched from the vicinity of Pyongyang toward the East Sea. The news agency did not provide detailed information about the hypersonic missiles in question. Experts suggest that these could be the "Hwasong-11ma," a hypersonic missile equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) warhead mounted on a KN-23 projectile.

Meanwhile, some analysts believe that the ballistic missile provocation was motivated by President Lee Jaemyung's visit to China and North Korea's awareness of the U.S. attempt to arrest President Maduro. Hong Min, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, assessed, "It is intended as a message that, unlike Venezuela, North Korea possesses war deterrence and nuclear capabilities." Lim Eulchul, Professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, also commented, "The launch immediately after the airstrike on Venezuela was a preemptive demonstration that physical pressure, such as a decapitation operation, would not work on North Korea, and that, if attempted, North Korea would retaliate with a fatal counterattack using hypersonic missiles."