Category: North Korea

I wonder if this a threat to fire missiles over Japan again into the greater Pacific Ocean?:

Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister, again blamed South Korea and the U.S. for fueling tensions on the peninsula with their plans for combined military exercises.

“The frequency of using the Pacific as our firing range depends upon the U.S.,” she said in a statement through KCNA. 

She added that North Korea is closely observing the movements of U.S. strategic assets, vowing to take “corresponding counteraction” to what it deems as a threat to its security.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

North Korea has continued its war against the fish of the East Sea this weekend:

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) toward the East Sea on Monday, Seoul’s military said, a day after South Korea and the United States staged joint air drills, involving B-1B bombers, in response to the North’s long-range missile launch.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from the Sukchon area in South Pyongan Province between 7 a.m. and 7:11 a.m., and that the missiles flew some 390 kilometers and 340 km, respectively.

Hours after the launch, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the artillery unit of the Korean People’s Army fired two shots from the 600-mm multiple rocket launcher during firing drills, and that they flew 395 km and 337 km, respectively.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The North Koreans are continuing to make sure the world doesn’t lose attention on them:

North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Saturday, Japan’s Defense Ministry said, with the weapon splashing down some 200 kilometers off Hokkaido’s Oshima Island, inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The missile, the first “ICBM-class” weapon to be fired by the North since November, traveled roughly 900 km, hitting a peak altitude of 5,700 km, the ministry said. With a flight time of 66 minutes, the missile was likely flown on a “lofted” trajectory, the ministry added, meaning it had been nearly shot straight up so as to avoid overflying neighboring countries.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan had protested the launch, calling it “an outrage” and escalation against “the international community as a whole.”

The Defense Ministry said the ICBM-class weapon was believed to have a range of over 14,000 km, depending on the weight of the warhead and other factors.

“In this case, that would put the entire United States within its range,” Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said.

Japan Times

A camera from the city of Hakodate on Hokkaido appears to have even caught the ICBM reentering the atmosphere:

This next graphic shows the trajectory of the ICBM that landed within Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone:

According to the article the launch is believed to be in response to a table top exercise next week between the U.S. and the ROK militaries where they will plan on how to defend against North Korean nuclear attacks.

Not only has he supposedly banned the name “Ju-ae”, but has also forced people already with that name to change it:

North Korean state TV on Sunday aired footage of leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Ju-ae, riding a white horse in an apparent display of her legitimacy as a descendant of the ruling family’s “Paekdu bloodline.”

In the footage on Korean Central Television, Ju-ae is seen mounted on a white horse during Wednesday’s massive military parade staged in Pyongyang to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the North’s armed forces.

The white horse is symbolic of the Kim family, and leader Kim Jong-un was famously seen riding one on Mount Paekdu in October 2019, eight months after the Hanoi summit between Kim and then U.S. President Donald Trump broke down.

Meanwhile, U.S. broadcaster Radio Free Asia quoted sources as saying Saturday that North Korean authorities are forcing people named Ju-ae to change their names.

North Korea previously prohibited the use of the same name as all the former and current leaders — Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un, the broadcaster said.

Yonhap

By the way Yonhap, that picture does not look like Kim Jong-un’s daughter.

It was party time in North Korea:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a nighttime military parade in Pyongyang earlier this week to mark the 75th founding anniversary of its armed forces, photos carried by state media showed Thursday.

Flanked by top military and party officials, Kim took to the reviewing stand to watch the military parade held in Kim Il Sung Square on Wednesday to mark the Korean People’s Army (KPA) anniversary, according to photos released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Clad in a long black coat and wearing a felt hat, Kim smiled and waved to the crowd. His outfit was reminiscent of those of the country’s late founder, Kim Il-sung.

The KCNA has not released any report on the details of the military parade, including whether Kim delivered a speech.

According to satellite images from the U.S.-based space technology firm Maxar Technologies, the North appears to have paraded a range of new ballistic missiles, including its Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on a mobile launcher.

Though many of the missiles remain unidentified, some observers raised the possibility that the list of the missiles on display might include a solid-propellant one that the North has recently been working on.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but with the parade over I guess we will see if the North Koreans decide to fire one of the ICBMs off or not.

Kim Jong-un seems to really be enjoying bringing his daughter around with him on these visits now:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited the barracks of the country’s general-grade officers together with his daughter to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the armed forces, according to state media Wednesday.

In a speech at a banquet Tuesday following his visit, Kim praised the Korean People’s Army (KPA) as “the strongest troops in the world,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“For the everlasting peace, prosperity and development on this land, we’ve developed great and absolute power while enduring so many sufferings and pain,” Kim said, apparently pointing to the North’s nuclear force.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Kim did not make any comments towards the ROK and the United States.