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US Ally South Korea Threatens Nuclear-Armed North Korea With Regime Destruction

 https://www.newsweek.com/south-north-korea-nuclear-weapons-regime-destruction-1925096, Jul 15, 2024

South Korea said Kim Jong Un‘s regime in the North faces a certain end if it uses nuclear weapons, a strongly worded statement that came after Pyongyang blasted Seoul and Washington for opening the door to further nuclear force deployments to the peninsula.

“If North Korea attempts to use nuclear weapons, the overwhelming response of the South Korea-U.S. alliance will bring about the end of the North Korean regime,” the Defense Ministry in Seoul said on Sunday.

“There is no scenario in which the North Korean regime will survive after using nuclear weapons,” the ministry added.

Kim’s government has stepped up its ballistic missile tests despite existing prohibitions backed by the U.N. Security Council. Amid spiraling tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Pyongyang has threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear strike to defend its territory from what it claims is an impending invasion.

In Washington, D.C., last week, President Joe Biden met South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol and recommitted “the full range of U.S. capabilities, including nuclear,” to the defense of the longtime U.S. treaty ally.

In a joint statement issued later the same day, the U.S. Defense Department and South Korean Defense Ministry announced the signing of “Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula.” This is a move to further integrate U.S. nuclear assets with South Korea’s conventional forces in defense of the alliance.

On Saturday, the North Korean Defense Ministry warned the United States and the South—”hostile states“—that they would “pay an unimaginably harsh price” for increased nuclear cooperation.

The allies were “betraying their sinister intention to step up their preparations for a nuclear war against the DPRK,” read the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

“We come to the conclusion that there is only one option for us to take against such confrontational fanatics,” the ministry said, noting the urgent requirement “to further improve its nuclear deterrent readiness and add important elements to the composition of the deterrent.”

South Korea’s Defense Ministry described the new guidelines as “a legitimate measure,” justified by North Korea’s continued development of nuclear-capable missiles.

The forceful language against Kim was first used by Biden last year during a state visit by Yoon.

“A nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies or partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of whatever regime, were it to take such an action,” Biden said.

North Korea’s embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.

The new guidelines governing when and how American nuclear forces might be deployed and used on the Korean Peninsula were crafted by the U.S.-ROK Nuclear Consultative Group, established after Yoon’s visit to the White House. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea’s official name.

South Korea, which has no nuclear weapons, says the contents of the guidelines are confidential.

Analysts say Washington aims to boost the credibility of what it calls “extended deterrence,” the ability of the U.S. military to deter adversaries and reassure allies, particularly with its nuclear arms.

North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and is estimated to have around 50 nuclear warheads in its stockpile, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

In SIPRI’s annual yearbook released last month, the think tank’s experts described North Korea’s nuclear weapons program as “active but highly opaque.”

“Based on statements by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, and North Korea’s expanding force posture, it seems likely that North Korea intends to increase its nuclear warhead inventory significantly,” the experts said.

July 17, 2024 Posted by | North Korea, South Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korean nuclear weapons, 2024

https://youtube.com/watch?v=2iprsTUjhG8%3Fsi%3D7uzfzBFluQ1ccY4I

Bulletin By Hans M. Kristensen, Matt Korda, Eliana Johns, Mackenzie Knight | July 15, 2024


North Korea continues to modernize and grow its nuclear weapons arsenal. In this Nuclear Notebook, the authors cautiously estimate that North Korea may have produced enough fissile material to hypothetically build up to 90 nuclear warheads, but has likely assembled fewer than that—potentially around 50. To deliver the warheads, North Korea is enhancing and diversifying its missile force, most recently with new solid-fuel long-range strategic missiles, short-range tactical missiles, and sea-based missiles. The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by the staff of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project: director Hans M. Kristensen, associate director Matt Korda, research associate Eliana Johns, and program associate Mackenzie Knight.

This article is freely available in PDF format in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ digital magazine (published by Taylor & Francis) at this link.

North Korea—also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK—has made significant advances over the past two decades in developing its nuclear weapons arsenal. Since 2006, North Korea has detonated six nuclear devices, updated its nuclear doctrine to reflect the irreversible role of nuclear weapons for its national security, and continued to introduce a variety of new missiles test-flown from new launch platforms.

It is widely assumed that North Korea has operational nuclear warheads for its short- and medium-range missiles as well as possibly for its longer-range missiles, although the latter capability has not yet been publicly demonstrated. There is considerable uncertainty about which of North Korea’s missiles have been fielded with an active operational nuclear capability. However, it seems clearer from North Korea’s public statements and systems-testing that the country intends to field an operational nuclear arsenal capable of holding targets at risk in East Asia, the United States, and Europe.

In 2021, Kim Jong-un announced several key strategic goals for North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, proposed as a five-year plan. According to Kim’s statement, these goals included: 1) producing “super-sized nuclear warheads,” 2) producing smaller and lighter nuclear weapons for tactical uses, 3) improving precision strike and range capabilities, 4) introducing “hypersonic gliding flight warheads,” 5) developing “solid-fuel engine propelled intercontinental, underwater, and ground ballistic rockets,” and 6) introducing a “nuclear-powered submarine and underwater-launch nuclear strategic weapon” (KCNA 2021). North Korea appears to have made significant progress on these goals, and has since introduced more demands including the dramatic increase of missile production and “cutting edge strategic weapon engines” (Kim 2023).

Due to the lack of clarity surrounding North Korea’s nuclear program, agencies and officials of the US intelligence community, as well as military commanders and independent experts, struggle to assess the program’s characteristics and capabilities………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

North Korea’s nuclear policy

For decades, North Korea has made numerous statements and signals about its nuclear weapons policy, laying out its nuclear doctrine if deterrence fails. Such statements have more recently been codified in official declaratory policy. In 2013, for example, North Korea’s “Law on Consolidating the Position of Nuclear Weapons State” suggested a no-first-use policy, noting that North Korea’s nuclear arsenal would only be used “to repel invasion or attack from a hostile nuclear weapons state and make retaliatory strikes” (KCNA 2013). Kim Jong-un officially declared a no-first-use policy in 2016 following North Korea’s fourth nuclear test.

Since 2016, however, North Korean statements and force posture changes have indicated a shift away from this no-first-use policy. Just two months after the policy was declared, the North Korean government issued a statement that North Korea would not be the first to use nuclear weapons “as long as the hostile forces for aggression do not encroach upon its sovereignty” (KCNA 2016b). In 2020, Kim Jong-un stated that North Korea’s nuclear deterrent “will never be used preemptively. But if […] any forces infringe upon the security of our state and attempt to have recourse to military force against us, I will enlist all our most powerful offensive strength in advance to punish them” (38 North 2020). Such caveats culminated in September 2022 when North Korea’s parliament codified in law North Korea’s right to launch nuclear weapons preemptively (Kim 2022). One year later, the North Korean government codified under the country’s constitution its right to “deter war and protect regional and global peace by rapidly developing nuclear weapons to a higher level” (Soo-Yeon 2023).

The abandonment of North Korea’s no-first-use policy coincides with the country’s recent efforts to develop tactical nuclear weapons. Following development and demonstration of new long-range strategic nuclear-capable missiles, the pursuit of tactical nuclear weapons appears intended to provide options for nuclear use below the strategic level and strengthen its regional deterrence posture (KCNA 2022; National Committee on North Korea 2021). According to two analysts, Pyongyang now sees its nuclear weapons as useful not only for retaliation against an attack but also for potentially winning a limited conflict………………

………………….. Occasionally, North Korea has explicitly mentioned or signaled which targets it would hit with its nuclear weapons. These include US military bases in South Korea, the Asia-Pacific region, Guam, Hawaii, and the continental United States.

………………………………………………………………….. despite occasional inflammatory statements, it appears highly likely that North Korea—as with other nuclear-armed states—would use its nuclear weapons only under extreme circumstances, particularly if the continued existence of the North Korean state and its political leadership were threatened.

North Korea’s nuclear weapons program

Plutonium production operations

The Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, located in North Pyongan province, has been called the “beating heart” of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. At Yongbyon, North Korea produces plutonium at its five megawatt-electric (MWe) graphite-moderated nuclear reactor, which has been operating intermittently since 1986………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Uranium enrichment operations

Assessing the state of North Korea’s uranium enrichment operations is more difficult because the operational history and locations of several associated uranium enrichment facilities are unknown………………………………………………………………

Fissile material and warhead inventory estimates

Because of the prior access to the facilities at Yongbyon, analysts have a reasonable understanding of North Korea’s plutonium production capabilities. However, given the uncertainties about the operations at Yongbyon’s uranium enrichment facility and the possible existence of a second centrifuge facility, it is unclear how much highly-enriched uranium (HEU) North Korea has produced and how much uranium it might divert to military purposes, including for plutonium production. Still, this amount is known to be growing and it is clear North Korea is investing in the improvement of its fissile material production capabilities………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The size of North Korea’s nuclear stockpile also depends on the weapon design and the number and types of launchers that can deliver them. Many experts also estimate that North Korea may have built a smaller number of nuclear weapons than what its stockpile of fissile material may suggest………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Nuclear testing and weaponization

After six nuclear tests—including two with moderate yields and one with a high yield—there is no longer any doubt that North Korea can build powerful nuclear explosive devices designed for different yields. North Korea’s latest nuclear test, conducted on September 3, 2017, had a yield of well over 100 kilotons and demonstrated that North Korea had managed to design a thermonuclear device or at least one that used a mixed-fuel (composite) design………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Potential land-based nuclear-capable missiles

Over the past decade, North Korea has developed a highly diverse ballistic missile force, including missiles in all major range categories…………………………………………………………………………………………

Short-range missiles…………………………………………………………………………………

Medium- and intermediate-range missiles North Korea is developing a new generation of medium- and intermediate-range missiles with improved accuracy, readiness, and maneuverability…………………………………………………………………

Intercontinental ballistic missiles

The most dramatic of North Korea’s recent developments has been the display and test launch of large intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs),…………………………………………………

Sea-based nuclear-capable missiles

Over the past decade, North Korea has worked to develop an increasingly sophisticated sea-based nuclear deterrent. ……………………………………………………………………..

Submarine-launched ballistic missiles……………………………………………

Submarine-launched cruise missiles North Korea is developing a new submarine-launched cruise missile, known as Pulhwasal-3-31. The system has been labeled a “strategic cruise missile”—implying a nuclear-capable status……………………………………………………

Other sea-based weapons North Korea appears to be developing an underwater weapon system………………………………………..

Land-attack cruise missiles North Korea appears to be developing a series of land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs)—………………………………………………… more https://thebulletin.org/premium/2024-07/north-korean-nuclear-weapons-2024/

July 17, 2024 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korea tests new nuclear-capable underwater drone

Canberra Times, By Soo-Hyang Choi and Ju-Min Park, March 24 2023 

North Korea has tested a new nuclear-capable underwater attack drone, as leader Kim Jong-un warned joint military drills by South Korea and the United States should stop.

The drone cruised underwater at a depth of 80 to 150 metres for more than 59 hours and detonated a non-nuclear payload in waters off its east coast on Thursday, North Korean state news agency KCNA said on Friday.

Analysts say North Korea is showing off its increasingly diverse nuclear threats to Washington and Seoul, though they are sceptical whether the underwater vehicle is ready for deployment.

North Korea intends to signal “to the United States and South Korea that in a war, the potential vectors of nuclear weapons delivery that the allies would have to worry about and target would be vast,” said Ankit Panda, senior fellow at the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“There would be silos, railcars, submarines and road mobile missile launchers and now they’re adding this underwater torpedo to the mix,” he said………………………………………………………… more https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8134654/north-korea-tests-new-nuclear-capable-underwater-drone/—

July 17, 2024 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Rare spat shows China and North Korea still at odds on nuclear weapons

Japan Times, BY JOSH SMITH, SEOUL, May 29, 2024

North Korea’s rare swipe at China this week underscored how Beijing and Pyongyang do not entirely see eye-to-eye on the latter’s illicit nuclear weapons arsenal, despite warming ties in other areas, analysts and officials in South Korea said.

The North condemned China, Japan and South Korea on Monday for discussing denuclearization of the peninsula, calling their joint declaration after a summit in Seoul a “grave political provocation” that violates its sovereignty.

Even though Beijing helped tone down the statement by advocating mention of the peninsula rather than the North specifically, that was enough to raise its neighbor’s hackles, one analyst said.

“It is notable that North Korea criticized a joint statement that China had signed onto, even after Beijing helped water down the statement,” added Patricia Kim, of the Brookings Institution in the United States.

In their remarks, the three nations “reiterated positions on regional peace and stability, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” but unlike the last such statements in 2019 and earlier, did not commit to pursue denuclearization.

Since international talks with the United States and other countries stalled in 2019, North Korea has moved to reject the concept of ever giving up its nuclear weapons.

“This is about North Korea emphasizing its stance that any diplomatic rhetoric suggesting Pyongyang should eventually denuclearize is unacceptable,” said Tong Zhao, a nuclear expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“After enshrining its nuclear status in the constitution and reprimanding anyone who questions it, North Korea is raising demands for formal international recognition as a nuclear-armed country.”……………………………………… more https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/05/29/asia-pacific/politics/china-north-korea-nuclear-weapons/—

May 30, 2024 Posted by | China, North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

North Korea vows to boost nuclear posture after US subcritical nuke test

DPRK slams US for destabilizing global security through no-expolosion experiment, though expert downplays threat

NK News Jeongmin Kim , May 20, 2024

North Korea has condemned the U.S. for conducting a no-explosion nuclear experiment that it claims destabilizes global security, vowing to recalibrate its own nuclear deterrence measures in response.

The U.S. Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced last week that it conducted a “subcritical experiment at an underground facility in Nevada on May 14 to collect information about the reliability and effectiveness of American nuclear warheads.

“This is a dangerous act that renders the extremely worsening global security environment more unstable, having seriously negative impact on the strategic balance among major nuclear powers,” an unnamed spokesperson of North Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Both the externally facing Korean Central News Agency and the domestic party daily Rodong Sinmun carried the statement.

The spokesperson called the U.S. the “world’s biggest nuclear weapons state” with a “strategic goal to militarily control other countries,” disqualifying it from discussing the threat of nuclear war. 

It is “nothing but rhetoric,” the statement continues before referencing the strategic assets that visited South Korea in the past couple of years, the U.S.-ROK Nuclear Consultative Group on discussing joint nuclear planning and the joint tabletop exercise slated for August on North Korean nuclear use scenarios. 

The latest test in Nevada has “added new tension to the military showdown among nuclear weapons states, fomenting the international nuclear arms race,” the statement reads, vowing to improve its nuclear defense posture against this threat.

However, Shin Seung-ki, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), told NK News that the U.S. test is not as threatening or new as North Korea described it. ………………………………………….

South Korean and U.S. authorities have said North Korea completed preparations for a seventh nuclear test around two years ago, but Pyongyang has not conducted one so far.   https://www.nknews.org/2024/05/north-korea-vows-to-boost-nuclear-posture-after-us-subcritical-nuke-test/

May 22, 2024 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

North Korea says it forced to take measures to increase nuclear deterrence

20 May 2024, By Alimat Aliyeva,  https://www.azernews.az/region/226324.html
The subcritical nuclear test conducted by the United States at the Nevada test site leads to an escalation of the global nuclear arms race, and Pyongyang is forced to take the necessary measures in this regard, Azernews reports.

It notes that the test “creates new tensions in the military confrontation between nuclear states and accelerates the global nuclear arms race.”

“In no case should the influence of this nuclear test on the military security situation in the region of the Korean Peninsula be allowed. In order to prepare for the strategic instability that is being created in the region and globally due to the unilateral action of the United States, we are forced to take the necessary measures to increase universal readiness for nuclear deterrence within the framework of our sovereign right and possible options,” the representative of the department added.

It is not said exactly what measures can be taken, but it is noted that the DPRK will “consistently protect the security, rights and interests of the state “by these actions, as well as “prevent the creation of a strategic imbalance and a security vacuum in the region of the Korean Peninsula.”

May 22, 2024 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

China and Russia Disagree on North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons

Beijing and Moscow have different perspectives on – and different appetites for – Pyongyang’s nuclear program.

The Diplomat, By Wooyeal Paik, May 15, 2024

China has been ambivalent about North Korea and its strategic behaviors for the last few decades, leading scholars in China to describe North Korea as both “strategic asset” and “strategic liability.” North Korea, China’s sole military ally with an official treaty, the Sino-North Korean Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance, signed in 1961, has proved tough to handle, if not outright volatile, for its security and economic patron.

Nonetheless, North Korea’s geopolitical importance to China as a buffer state against the United States and its East Asian allies (South Korea and Japan) has not lessened. Even in the era of high-tech weapons such as missiles, military satellites, nuclear submarines, and fifth-generation fighter jets, all of which serve to reduce the strategic value of physical buffer zones, it is still effective and valuable for China not to confront the mighty hostile power, the United States, on its immediate land border. Ground forces are still the ultimate military presence, and sharing a border with a U.S. allied, unified Korea would also come at a psychological cost for China.

Beyond its role as a buffer state, North Korea’s value as leverage or a bargaining chip for China in Beijing’s relations with South Korea and the United States has been well recognized. In 2024, however, China may consider adding another layer to this leverage by supporting North Korea’s nuclear program, as Russia has done. 

North Korea is a de facto nuclear state with a set of viable delivery mechanisms including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).

This nuclear element of the Kim regime has been regarded as the quintessential reason for an ever-growing regional security instability in Northeast Asia and beyond. 

For China, North Korea – and particularly its nuclear program – is a strategic liability. China prioritizes stability in its neighborhood, but North Korea purposefully pursues instability right next to China. This conflict of interests between the treaty allies exacerbates Chinese national security concerns, particularly regarding the United States and its hub-and-spoke system in the Indo-Pacific area. 

In response to North Korea’s rapid nuclear and missile developments, the United States has significantly ramped up its military presence on and around the Korean Peninsula, in consultation with its ally, South Korea. That includes the regular deployment of strategic (i.e., nuclear-capable) U.S. assets to the region, something China is not comfortable with.

Russia, however, takes a different view. Over the past year, Moscow has shifted its strategic approach to the North Korea’s nuclear capability and provocations, from viewing them as a nuisance that disrupts the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regime to a tactical countermeasure against the United States. From Russia’s perspective, distracting the U.S. – the primary military and economic presence as the NATO leader – is a goal unto itself, as Washington is a major obstacle to Russia’s desire to conquer Ukraine and influence the post-Soviet Central and Eastern Europe. 

Russia has been importing North Korean weapons – 152 mm artillery ammunition,122 mm multiple rocket launcher ammunition, and other conventional weapons – for use against Ukraine. In return, it’s widely believed that North Korea receives Russia’s technical assistance for the research and development of advanced space and weapons technologies: nuclear-powered submarines, cruise and ballistic missiles, military reconnaissance satellites. North Korea also receives food and energy in addition to rare international support for its pariah regime. 

Russia actively endorses North Korea as a nuclear state and supports its “legitimate” use of nuclear weapons for its self-defense and beyond. As Kim Jong Un embraces a lower nuclear threshold, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his ruling elites have also expressed their willingness to employ low-yield tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine and European NATO countries. 

Thus, North Korea has evolved into a double-layered tool for Russia, acting as both a buffer state and a nuclear threat against the United States in Northeast Asia and Europe. This accelerates the convergence of security between Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions.

Despite Russia’s high-profile advances with North Korea, China is still thought to be the only nation with significant influence over Pyongyang. ……………………………………………………….. more https://thediplomat.com/2024/05/china-and-russia-disagree-on-north-koreas-nuclear-weapons/

May 17, 2024 Posted by | China, North Korea, politics international, Russia | Leave a comment

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Oversees Simulated ‘Nuclear Counterattack’

The drill took place on Monday, according to the report. Seoul’s military had earlier announced that the North had fired several short-range ballistic missiles on Monday, with Tokyo confirming the launch.

World NewsAgence France-Presse April 23, 2024  https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-oversees-simulated-nuclear-counterattack-5501429

According to report, Kim Jong Un “appreciated the high hit and accuracy” of the rockets.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen a drill simulating a “nuclear counterattack,” state-run KCNA news agency said Tuesday, the latest in a volley of tests by Pyongyang this year.

The drill took place on Monday, according to the report. Seoul’s military had earlier announced that the North had fired several short-range ballistic missiles on Monday, with Tokyo confirming the launch.

The drill involved “super-large multiple rocket units” which “hit their island target” some 352 kilometres (219 miles) away, the report said.

It added that Kim “appreciated the high hit and accuracy” of the rockets.

South Korea’s military said Monday that the missiles flew from the Pyongyang area for about 300 kilometres before splashing down in the waters east of the Korean peninsula.

The launch is the second in less than a week by Pyongyang, which on Friday tested a “super-large warhead” designed for a strategic cruise missile, state media said. Seoul’s military confirmed it had detected cruise missile launches at the time.

April 24, 2024 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korea says it tested underwater nuclear attack drone in response to rivals’ naval drills

By Associated Press Jan 19, 24,  https://www.9news.com.au/national/north-korea-says-it-tested-underwater-nuclear-attack-drone-in-response-to-rivals-naval-drills/c2549630-f1b1-47f9-a510-0c1352a6ca97

North Korea vows to back Russia after meeting between leaders

North Korea said on Friday it had tested a purported underwater nuclear attack drone in response to a combined naval exercise between South Korea, the United States and Japan this week, as it continues to blame its rivals for raising tensions in the region.

The alleged drone test came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared he would scrap his country’s long-standing goal of a peaceful unification with South Korea and that his country would rewrite its constitution to define South Korea as its most hostile foreign adversary.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen to their highest point in years, with Kim accelerating his weapons testing activity and threatening nuclear conflict.

The United States and its Asian allies have responded by strengthening their combined military exercises, which Kim calls rehearsals for invasion.

North Korea’s alleged nuclear attack drone, which the North first tested last year, is among a broad range of weapon systems demonstrated in recent years as Kim expands his arsenal of nuclear-capable weapons.

South Korea’s military has insisted the North has exaggerated the capabilities of the drone, which is supposedly designed to carry out strikes on enemy vessels and ports.

The North’s military said it conducted the test in the country’s eastern waters in response to the US, South Korean and Japanese joint naval drill, which ended on Wednesday in waters south of Jeju island.

“Our army’s underwater nuke-based countering posture is being further rounded off and its various maritime and underwater responsive actions will continue to deter the hostile military maneuvers of the navies of the US and its allies,” the North’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.

“We strongly denounce the US and its followers for their reckless acts of seriously threatening the security of the DPRK from the outset of the year and sternly warn them of the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by them,” it said, using the initials of North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The North in recent months has also tested various missile systems designed to target the United States and its Asian allies, and announced an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorises the military to conduct preemptive nuclear strikes if the leadership in Pyongyang is under threat.

The North conducted its first ballistic missile test of 2024 on Sunday, which state media described as a new solid-fuel, intermediate-range missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead, likely intended to target US military bases in Guam and Japan.

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday, South Korea called on the council “to break the silence” over North Korea’s escalating missile tests and threats. Two of the council’s permanent members, Russia and China, have blocked US-led efforts to increase sanctions on Pyongyang over its recent testing activity, underscoring a divide deepened over Russia’s war on Ukraine. South Korea is serving a two-year term on the council

January 20, 2024 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Kim Jong Un announces launch of new spy satellites, nuclear resolutions for 2024 

The Hill, BY MIRANDA NAZZARO – 12/31/23 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to launch three new military spy satellites, build attack drones and expand the country’s nuclear materials in 2024, according to state media reports.

In remarks made at the end of the ruling Workers’ Party meeting over the weekend, Kim railed against the “vicious” moves of the U.S. and its followers for working against North Korea, claiming the U.S. has helped push the Korean Peninsula to the “brink of a nuclear war,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“Because of reckless moves by the enemies to invade us, it is a fait accompli that a war can break out at any time on the Korean Peninsula,” Kim said, per KCNA.

The North Korean leader pointed to the the increase in joint military exercises by the U.S., Japan and South Korea and the deployment of U.S. military assets including bombers over the past year, arguing they show the U.S. “aims at the military confrontation” with North Korea “at any cost.”

The U.S., alongside South Korea, has maintained that the countries will continue to wage a joint defense against North Korea’s threats.

Kim vowed to launch three reconnaissance satellites in 2024, a declaration that comes nearly a month after the country launched its first reconnaissance satellite in November, KCNA said. The U.S. said that launch was a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Kim later emphasized the need to create a “reliable foundation” to make more nuclear weapons and ordered officials to boost the North’s submarine capabilities and to develop unmanned combat equipment, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

Observers told the AP that Kim expressed the belief that boosted nuclear abilities could give him the opportunity for diplomacy with the U.S. and that his country could be given sanctions relief if former President Trump wins the presidency in 2024…………………………………………………………

Diplomacy talks between the U.S. and North Korea broke down in 2019 over the amount of sanctions relief the North could get for partly surrendering its nuclear program. Since then, Kim has aimed to modernize the North’s nuclear supply through efforts including an increased production of plutonium and uranium.

Experts said Kim likely believes Trump, if reelected to the White House, may make concessions over sanctions relief as the U.S. gears its focus on the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, per the AP.  https://thehill.com/policy/international/4383437-kim-jong-un-announces-launch-of-new-spy-satellites-nuclear-resolutions-for-2024/

January 2, 2024 Posted by | North Korea, politics international, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Kim Jong Un announces his nuclear resolutions for 2024

Hannah Getahun and Associated Press , Dec 31, 2023, 

  • North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has plans to ramp up military actions in 2024. 
  • Kim said he would intensify weapons tests and build up the country’s nuclear stockpile.
  • Experts say the moves are meant to help ease sanctions should Donald Trump return as president.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to launch three additional military spy satellites, produce more nuclear materials, and introduce modern attack drones in 2024, as he called for “overwhelming” war readiness to cope with US-led confrontational moves, state media reported Sunday.

Kim’s comments, made during a key ruling Workers’ Party meeting to set state goals for next year, suggest he’ll intensify a run of weapons tests ahead of the US presidential elections in November……………………………………………………more https://www.businessinsider.com/kim-jong-un-spy-satellites-nuclear-weapons-2023-12

January 1, 2024 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korean parliament enshrines nuclear ambitions in constitution

Leader Kim Jong Un says the constitutional amendment will help North Korea hold a ‘definite edge’ in deterring threats.

Aljazeera, 27 Sep 2023

North Korea’s parliament has unanimously moved to enshrine its nuclear programme in the country’s constitution.

The state news agency KCNA reported on the “crucial agenda item” early on Thursday, explaining that the new constitutional amendment would establish North Korea’s pursuit of a nuclear force “as the basic law of the state”.

The news follows a meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday of the Supreme People’s Assembly, North Korea’s rubber-stamp legislature. The country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, addressed the assembly to support the passage of the amendment.

Kim called to “accelerate the modernisation of nuclear weapons in order to hold the definite edge of strategic deterrence” against perceived threats, like the United States and South Korea…………………………………….

The announcement that nuclear weapons would be enshrined in the country’s constitution comes in defiance of multiple UN Security Council sanctions, meant to deter North Korea from pursuing nuclear arms.

Over the past year, North Korea has been escalating the number of weapons tests it conducts, launching an array of ballistic and cruise missiles……………. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/27/north-korean-parliament-enshrines-nuclear-ambitions-in-constitution

September 28, 2023 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korea says it has simulated a nuclear missile attack to warn US of ‘nuclear war danger’

By Heather Law and Heather Chen, CNN, Sat September 2, 2023

North Korea said Sunday it had simulated a nuclear missile attack to warn the United States of “nuclear war danger.”

The country launched several cruise missiles, some of them equipped with mock nuclear warheads, state media outlet KCNA said, describing the exercise as a simulation of a “tactical nuclear attack.”

The exercises were meant to “warn the enemies of the actual nuclear war danger,” KCNA reported the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea as saying.

It said the exercises were conducted at dawn on Saturday and involved “two long-range strategic cruise missiles with mock nuclear warheads.”

The staged nuclear attack was in response to joint military exercises conducted by the United States and South Korea, earlier in the week, KCNA added.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….. The US-South Korea live fire exercises were conducted on Wednesday. South Korean and US commanders said the drills showcased “the strongest military alliance in the world.”

The drill, based on a counterattack against invading forces, hasn’t been showcased since 2018 and comes after the US and South Korean presidents pledged to step up military cooperation following a May summit meeting in Seoul…. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/02/asia/north-korea-nuclear-missile-attack-stimulation-intl-hnk/index.html

September 5, 2023 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Power-starved North Korea turns to solar energy to keep the lights on

1North Korea is increasingly turning to solar power to help meet its energy
needs, as the isolated regime seeks to reduce its dependence on imported
fossil fuels amid chronic power shortages. Prices of solar panels have
dropped in recent years thanks to an influx of cheap Chinese imports and a
rise in domestic assembly of panels within North Korea, according to the
Stimson Center think-tank in Washington.

This has allowed many North
Koreans to install small solar panels costing as little as $15-$50,
bypassing the state electricity grid that routinely leaves them without
reliable power for months. Larger solar installations have also sprung up
at factories and government buildings over the past decade.

FT 27th Aug 2023

https://www.ft.com/content/cff0639f-e095-465c-a6e9-3e418a7e30cf

August 28, 2023 Posted by | North Korea, renewable | Leave a comment

2 minor earthquakes strike near North Korea’s nuclear test site

Sunday’s tremors latest in series of earthquakes to hit Kilju region in recent months

By Anadolu staff  13.08.2023  https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/2-minor-earthquakes-strike-near-north-koreas-nuclear-test-site/2966671

ANKARA

Two minor earthquakes struck on Sunday near North Korea’s nuclear test site, the latest in a series of natural earthquakes to hit the region in recent months, South Korea’s state weather agency said.

There were no reports of any damage.

The first earthquake of 2.7 magnitude struck about 40 kilometers (24.8 miles) north-northwest of Kilju, North Hamgyong Province, at 3:13 a.m. (local time), while the second of 2.3 magnitude struck 42 km (26 m) north-northwest of Kilju at 7:55 a.m, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.

Kilju is home to the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, where North Korea conducted all six of its nuclear tests.

Eight natural earthquakes were reported to have struck the area in 2022 alone.

August 15, 2023 Posted by | North Korea, safety | Leave a comment

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