Category: North Korea

North Korea seems to want to remind the Biden administration they can target U.S. soil with their latest missile launch; they even put a camera on their missile to further drive that point home:

North Korea’s state-run news outlet on Monday confirmed it successfully test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States’ territory of Guam.

The Korean Central News Agency announced the country had fired a Hwasong-12 missile on Sunday from the northwestern area of North Korea toward the eastern coast “in consideration of the security of neighboring countries.”

The Hwasong-12 is an intermediate-range ballistic missile with an estimated maximum range of 2,796 miles, more than enough distance to reach Guam, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. It was first unveiled – and last tested – by North Korea in 2017, the same year the communist regime tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

North Korea just increased their level of provocation with an IRBM test. This missile can range the U.S. territory of Guam. The next step to be even more provocative is to fire over Japan:

North Korea fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) into the East Sea on Sunday, South Korea’s military said, raising fears that Pyongyang has inched toward its threatened suspension of a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missile, fired at a steep angle from Mupyong-ri in the northern province of Jagang, at 7:52 a.m., and it flew about 800 kilometers at a top altitude of 2,000 km.

The missile hit a top speed of Mach 16, 16 times the speed of sound, and appears to be similar to the Hwasong-12 missile that the North tested in 2017, a military official told reporters, requesting anonymity.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if this was a normal Olympics cycle I think the CCP would be upset about these missile launches taking headlines away from China. However, with no fans and a diplomatic boycott going on which is leading to little interest in the Olympics China probably has no issues with the Kim regime raising tensions.

We all knew it was coming at some point that North Korea was going to return to brinkmanship to get what they want which is the dropping of sanctions and the Korean War peace treaty:

North Korea is dusting off the old playbook of provocations to capture the attention of the U.S. and gain the upper hand in future talks by hinting at lifting a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests, according to diplomatic observers.

Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KNCA) reported, Thursday, that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un decided to reconsider resuming “all temporarily-suspended activities” at a political bureau meeting held the previous day.

“We should make more thorough preparations for a long-term confrontation with the U.S. imperialists,” it said, criticizing the U.S.’ hostile policy of reaching a dangerous level.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but my prediction is that the ROK election will determine the level of brinkmanship the Kim regime returns to. If Yoon Suk-yeol is elected the provocations will likely be more severe due to his tougher stance against North Korea compared to his rival Lee Jae-myung. Regardless I think after the ROK election in March is when they will move forward with actions more provocative than the short range missile tests we have seen in recent weeks.

North Korea is claiming its newest short range ballistic missile has completed testing and is ready for deployment:

The two missiles North Korea fired from an airfield near Pyongyang Monday morning appeared to be KN-24 tactical guided missiles that are in production for deployment, according to state media on Tuesday.  
   
The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that the Academy of Defense Science supervised the launch of the tactical guided missiles to test their accuracy and efficiency, and that both precisely hit their targets in the eastern waters off the Korean Peninsula.  
   
Descriptions of the “tactical guided missiles” in the state media reports suggested they were KN-24 short-range ballistic missiles, which would be their fourth test by the regime, following two tests in August 2019 and one in March 2020.  
   
The KN-24 is a single-stage missile powered by a solid propellant and launched from a mobile platform. Previous state media reports claim the missile is capable of maneuvering in mid-flight to avoid mid-air interception.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

It looks like North Korea needed to get some needed aid from China:

A North Korean freight train crossed the Yalu River railroad bridge into China on Sunday, multiple sources said, raising the prospect of the two sides resuming land transactions in earnest following more than a year of suspension attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The train from Sinuiju arrived in the Chinese border city of Dandong at around 9:10 a.m., they said, while it was not immediately confirmed whether it carried cargo or was empty, they said.

It is likely to return to North Korea on Monday, with “emergency materials” loaded, according to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

It marks the first time that the secretive North has formally opened its land border with China in 1 1/2 years. It has closed borders, with all tour programs for foreigners and the operation of cross-border passenger trains halted, since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The North Koreans are having a busy few days launching missiles. I wonder if this part of the short notice readiness exercise they claimed to have conducted a couple of days ago?:

North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles eastward from an airfield in Pyongyang on Monday, South Korea’s military said, in the recalcitrant regime’s fourth show of force this year.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the projectiles fired from the Sunan airport at 8:50 a.m. and 8:54 a.m., respectively, and that they flew about 380 kilometers at an altitude of 42 km.

“For more specific information, the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States are conducting a detailed analysis,” the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters without further elaboration.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.