The war on the fish in the East Sea continues by the North Koreans:
North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, in what could be a performance test aimed at exporting arms to Russia.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch, involving various types of multiple short-range ballistic missiles, from the North’s eastern coastal city of Wonsan between 8:10 a.m. and 9:20 a.m.
The North’s missile flew up to 800 kilometers before splashing into the East Sea, it said. The latest test is also believed to have involved the North’s KN-25 super-large 600-millimeter multiple rocket launcher and the KN-23, which is similar to Russia’s Iskander short-range ballistic missiles.
What exactly did this military agreement achieve that makes it worth restoring?:
South Korea’s leading presidential candidate has pledged to restore a military deconfliction agreement with the North if elected, aiming to reduce rising tension on the Korean Peninsula. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, said the Comprehensive Military Agreement signed on Sept. 19, 2018, should be reinstated. The deal was effectively scrapped by both countries last year. “We urgently need to ease military tensions and restore trust between the two Koreas,” he said in a recent news release.
I wonder if Kim Jong-un thinks he may be able to export some of these tanks to Russia if the war with Ukraine keeps dragging on?:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected a tank factory and expressed satisfaction over the upgraded structural design of indigenous tanks, while emphasizing the need to modernize the military with advanced tanks, the North’s state media reported Sunday.
Kim inspected the factory’s production status, modernization and progress in implementing research tasks related to core tank technology, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
It did not disclose the name or location of the factory or the date of his visit, describing it only as an “important” tank factory.
“To replace the armoured weapons of the last century in our army with latest tanks and armoured vehicles is the most important issue in the building of armed forces and modernization of the army,” the KCNA quoted Kim as saying during the field guidance.
I am not sure what Seoul gets out of forcibly coming out against North Korea’s involvement in the Russian war against Ukraine because we all know the UN will do nothing about it:
South Korea has condemned Pyongyang’s first public admission that its troops fought alongside Russian forces against Ukraine, calling the move a violation of international law. “North Korea taking part in the war against Ukraine is certainly an illegal act that violates the United Nations charter and U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Jeon Ha Gyu, spokesman for the South’s Ministry of National Defense, said at a news briefing Monday.
“Admitting [that it engaged] in the war is admission of a criminal act,” he added. “Our military and the international community strongly condemn this inhumane, illegal act.” (….)
Another South Korean official condemned the loss of North Korean lives in the conflict. “North Korea can never cover the fact that deploying troops is an illegal act that violates international law, and is inhumane, unethical behavior that sacrificed young North Koreans for the governments’ sake,” Ministry of Unification spokesman Koo Byongsam said at a separate briefing. Koo called on Pyongyang to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine.
You can read more at the link, but someone needs to tell Minister Koo that the North Korean troops are not in Ukraine, they have been used to combat Ukrainian troops that invaded into the Russian Kursk region.
It sounds like the State Department may finally be recognizing reality when dealing with North Korea now:
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described North Korea as a “nuclear-armed” country in an apparent recognition of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons capabilities, despite the Trump administration’s stated commitment to the “complete denuclearization” of the North.
Rubio used the expression in a podcast interview released Wednesday, as he pointed to a series of security challenges facing the United States, including those from China, Russia and Iran.
You can read more at the link, but the next reality the State Department needs to realize is that the Kim regime will never completely give up their nuclear weapons. Once the State Department completely recognizes reality when dealing with North Korea then maybe some kind of deal could be struck.
North Korea is the last country that should be critical of the U.S. selling weapons when they have been selling Russia weapons and even Soldiers to fight in the war in Ukraine:
North Korea on Sunday denounced U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent easing of domestic weapons export regulations, calling it a move aimed to “expand wars.”
The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued the criticism, citing Trump’s April 9 executive order that mandates a review of rules governing U.S. military equipment exports, aimed at facilitating easier overseas sales of defense products.
“For the United States, arms sale is not only merely a money-making space to meet monetary desire but also a major means of supporting the realization of aggressive foreign policy, the hegemony-seeking one,” the KCNA claimed.
It makes sense that North Korea would be looking to upgrade their air defenses considering the strategic bombing threat they face if conflict was to happen on the peninsula:
The chief of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command reportedly said North Korea provided ballistic missiles and artillery shells to support Russia’s war in Ukraine and will receive advanced air defense equipment in return.
According to Ukraine’s daily Kyiv Post on Monday, Adm. Samuel Paparo conveyed the information during a briefing for the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
Paparo reportedly said North Korea has sent hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles and hundreds of thousands of artillery shells to support Russia’s war and that in return, it will receive advanced air defense equipment, including surface-to-air missile systems and other technology.
It would be foolish of the North Koreans to not test the effectiveness of their weapon systems in Ukraine so this should not be a surprise to anyone:
North Korea is using its support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to test weapons it could deploy against the South in a future conflict, Ukraine’s ambassador to Seoul said in a news report Sunday. Ukraine and South Korea share a common adversary, Ukrainian Ambassador to South Korea Dmytro Ponomarenko said in written remarks published by Yonhap News. South Korea “should not forget that Pyongyang also uses Ukrainian soil as a testing ground for its weaponry, which could be used in future possible standoff,” Ponomarenko said. Seoul “has no reason to hesitate in the development of full-scale military-technical cooperation” with Kyiv, he said. “It’s a matter of interest for both Kyiv and Seoul,” he added.
It looks like Trump is signaling at some point there will be a reach out to the Kim regime. However, with the administration tied down trying to negotiate a peace between Ukraine and Russia, the North Korea issue will likely remain on the back burner:
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed his desire to reestablish the relationship that he had with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his first term, boasting that he “got along great” with the reclusive leader and still has a “great” relationship with him.
During a press availability, Trump made the remarks, describing the North Korean leader as a “nuclear power” with “a lot of nuclear weapons,” as his administration is pursuing the goal of the “complete denuclearization” of North Korea.
“Well, I would,” Trump said, responding to a reporter’s question of whether he has a plan to reestablish the relationship he had under his first presidential mandate.
“I had a great relationship with Kim Jong-un (of) North Korea. If I wasn’t elected, if Hillary got in, you would have had a nuclear war with North Korea,” he added, as he sat next to North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House for talks.
You can read more at the link, but I think Trump is exagerating that there would have been a nuclear war if Hillary was elected. She more than likely would have continued the Obama era policy of strategic patience which was basically doing nothing with North Korea.
I give Trump credit for doing something different in regards to North Korea during his first term though it didn’t work. His outreach did reduce tensions for two years, but still did not slow down North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and advanced missile systems to deliver them.
My assessment is that this disclosure of a nuclear powered submarine is more for PR purposes than any actual near term military benefits. This technology is very difficult to master and they are likely many years from having a working prototype. However, like with their nuclear program if nothing is done to reign their program in over a 10-15 year period, they will likely eventually have a working nuclear powered submarine:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, third from right, smiles during his visit to a shipyard to inspect nuclear submarine construction in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency, Saturday. Yonhap
North Korea has publicly unveiled the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine, a weapons system that could pose a serious security threat to South Korea and allies if successfully developed, due to its ability to operate submerged for months.
On Saturday, Pyongyang’s state-run media, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), released photos of leader Kim Jong-un inspecting shipyards focused on constructing warships, including “a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine.”
“Kim stressed the need to make overwhelmingly powerful warships to contain hostile forces’ habitual gunboat diplomacy,” the KCNA reported without disclosing the exact location of the shipyards.
It was the first time that North Korea disclosed the ship’s appearance.
