The North Korea Launch of ATACMS Missiles at Record altitude: a United States and Japan Approach to Nuclear Defensive Forces

The missile that was fired Thursday may have failed after the second stage because it only separated at the second stage, an official source in the South Korean government told CNN. Thursday’s launch reached a maximum altitude of about 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles), according to Japan’s Defense Ministry – less than a third of the record height set in March.

The National Security Council issued a statement Thursday condemning North Korea’s missile tests as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a threat to the region.

“Pyongyang has been concerned about military exercises by the U.S., South Korea and Japan, so to strengthen its self-proclaimed deterrent, it is making explicit the nuclear threat behind its recent missile launches. The kind of warhead that would arm Kim’s units may have been the cause of the KCNA report, which may be a sign of a forthcoming nuclear test.

The United States and its allies are angry about recent missile tests by North Korea that flew over Japan without being warned.

Since the end of the Korean War in 1952, the de-facto maritime border between the two Koreas has not been flown over by a North Korean missile. One flew toward Ulleung Island off South Korea’s east coast, triggering air raid sirens, before dropping in the sea.

The US and Japan launched a joint response to the North Korea missile launch, with US Marine Corps and Japan Air Self Defense Force fighter jets flying over the Sea of Japan.

Wednesday’s launch included four ATACMS missiles, the statement by the South Korean Joint Chiefs said. Also known as Army Tactical Missile Systems, such weapons are surface-to-surface missiles that can fly around 200 miles (320 kilometers).

The purpose of the launch, according to John Kirby, the National Security Council’s coordinators for strategic communications, was to demonstrate that the US and its allies have military capabilities that are ready to respond to provocations by the North.

Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program and professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said North Korea’s announcements Monday indicated potential progress in its missile program.

“There is simply no practical plan at this point, especially in the short term, to bring North Korea to the negotiating table and to pursue denuclearization.”

The aggressive acceleration in weapons testing has sparked alarm in the region, with the US, South Korea and Japan responding with missile launches and joint military exercises.

Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit, pushing North Korea further into isolation. The already-impoverished country sealed its borders entirely, with foreign diplomats and aid workers fleeing en masse. There were four missile launches in 2020 and eight in 2021.

First, it could simply be the right time after the events of the last few years, with Kim declaring victory against Covid in August, and a new US administration in place that has focused on shows of unity with South Korea.

“They’ve been unable to test for quite a few years due to political considerations, so I’d expect North Korean engineers and generals to be very eager to make sure their toys are going to work well,” said Andrei Lankov, a professor at South Korea’s Kookmin University.

Jeffrey Lewis, a weapons expert and professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said that it’s normal for North Korea to pause testing during the warm summer months and resume again in the fall.

Kim’s fiery statement – his first about North Korea’s missile program for several months – came after he reportedly oversaw the test Wednesday of long-range cruise missiles over waters west of the Korean Peninsula, according to KCNA.

“They want to remind the world that they should not be ignored, that they exist and their engineers are working around the clock to develop both nuclear weapons and delivery systems,” said Lankov.

In a statement Thursday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Pyongyang’s repeated launches “of ballistic missiles are a serious provocation that harms the peace and stability of not only the Korean Peninsula but also the international community.”

“(The missile tests) started in January, which is about the time we were beginning to report on what Russian President Vladimir Putin was doing opposite Ukraine,” said Schuster. “Kim Jong Un is doing what he thinks he can get away with – he’s not expecting any kind of strong US reaction.”

Kim may have been boosted by Russia’s invasion of Ukranian because he believes that nuclear weapons can be used without fear. And if you don’t have nuclear weapons, you’re in trouble.”

Despite the US and its allies’ quick military response this past week experts say there’s little they can do to stop or prepare for North Korea’s weapons tests

The recent naval drills between the US and South Korean forces involved a nuclear powered aircraft carrier for the first time in five years.

U.S.-South Korea missile tests and warning to the enemy: the KCNA report on November 25, September 25 to October 9, 2017, during a joint training session

The North lacks the widespread use of technology that not only facilitates economic and societal advances, but also provides critical windows and opportunities to glean information for the intelligence services of the US and its allies.

Kim is concerned about the people under him as much as he is about regime change from the outside. With the tests, Kim, is telling his own senior people, “We can deal with whatever the threat the West, the US and South Korea can come up with,” he said.

In May, Russia and China vetoed a US-drafted UN resolution to strengthen sanctions on North Korea for its weapons testing – the first time either country had blocked a sanction vote against the North since 2006.

The law also demonstrated North Korea’s hopes of strengthening its ties with China and Russia, said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

The United States and South Korea held a joint training session in which an Army Tactical Missile System was fired.

The KCNA, North Korea’s state-run media, didn’t make any mention of missile launches for months, since its last report in March.

However, Schuster and Lankov both said that given the friendly relationship between North Korea and China, Kim might wait until after China holds its high-profile Communist Party Congress later this month – if it happens at all.

It is the most important event on the Chinese political calendar, with the meeting of the party elite expected this year to give Chinese leader Zhou Xiaochuan a third term in power, cementing his position as the most powerful Chinese leader in decades.

Kim depends too much on Chinese aid to keep his country afloat and thus he can’t do anything to distract from the Party Congress. “So although China can’t dictate to him what he must do … he will not cause them problems.”

On Thursday, the day after the launch of the missile, Kim warned adversaries that his nuclear forces are fully prepared for war.

The North displayed the war capabilities of their nuclear combat forces whenever they held a missile or nuclear test, said the Korean Central News Agency.

The KCNA report said the recent drills, from September 25 to October 9, were designed to send a “strong military reaction warning to the enemies” and to verify and improve the country’s fighting capabilities.

The missile launches were conducted by army units tasked with the operation of nuclear weapons, according to the private Sejong Institute in South Korea.

The North’s public launch of a missile from under an inland dam was the first of its type, and it has previously test launched missiles from a submarine.

Kim Dong-yub, a professor at Seoul’s University of North Korean Studies, said North Korea likely aims to diversify launch sites to make it difficult for its enemies to detect its missile liftoffs in advance and conduct preemptive strikes.

KCNA said when the weapon launched from the reservoir was flying above the sea target, North Korean authorities confirmed the reliability of the explosion of the missile’s warhead, apparently a dummy one, at the set altitude.

North Korea released a slew of photos on the launches. Kim and Ri Sol Ju were shown frowning while covering their ears, by one of them. The image indicated Ri’s elevated political standing because she hadn’t been to see a weapons launch before.

In Friday’s statement attributed to an unidentified spokesperson, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the United States and South Korea had created a seriously “unstable atmosphere” in the region with their military exercises. They said that the United States used economic and military threats to force its ally, North Korea, to disarm.

It is making explicit the nuclear threat behind the recent missile launches by providing a headline for domestic consumption on the 77th anniversary of its ruling party.

The units that launch missiles aren’t framed as tests of the missiles, but as tests of the units that launch them. Lewis said that it suggests the systems are deployed.

The KCNA Report from Camp Humphreys: State of the Art in South Korea and the Implications for Nuclear Forces and Warheads

Among the key military installations in South Korea is the US Army’s Camp Humphreys, the largest US military installation outside of the United States with a population of more than 36,000 US servicemembers, civilian workers, contractors and family members.

“The KCNA report may also be harbinger of a forthcoming nuclear test for the kind of tactical warhead that would arm the units Kim visited in the field,” he said.

Kim further emphasized that Pyongyang will thoroughly monitor enemies’ military movements and “strongly take all military countermeasures” if needed, KCNA stated.

A US Navy aircraft carrier strike group participated in several days of bilateral and trilateral exercises with South Korean and Japanese units that ended Saturday, a statement from the US Navy’s Task Force 70 said.

The commander of Task Force 70/Carrier Strike Group 5 says that their commitment to regional security and the defense of our allies and partners is shown by their flexibility and adaptability.

Japan’s Joint Staff said the security environment around Japan was becoming “increasingly severe” and that drills with the US Navy were strengthening the alliance’s capability to respond to threats.

The KCNA report claimed the cruise missiles tested Wednesday flew oval and figure-8 patterns for almost three hours above the sea before hitting their target.

“It is worth remembering that the details of these reports cannot be trusted,” said Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. The Kim regime is surprisingly transparent about weapons development goals, but it exaggerates strength and capabilities.

Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said North Korean missile tests show a progressing program even if current strengths are exaggerated.

Testing the United States with a Cruise-Militor System: A View from Seoul, Tokyo, Washington and the Cold War in the Middle East

A missile is fired using a rocket or rockets, then traveled outside of Earth’s atmosphere to space before descending to its destination, powered by gravity.

Cruise missiles don’t have as much baggage as ballistic missiles, so a smaller warhead would be required to hit the United States.

United Nations Security Council resolutions ban North Korea from testing ballistic missiles, but no such restriction applies to the testing of cruise missiles.

“Policymakers in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington should not allow domestic politics and other challenges such as Russia’s war in Ukraine to prevent them from increasing international coordination on military deterrence and economic sanctions” on Pyongyang, he said.

In the past, the United States has tried to ease the situation. Washington was able to live with nuclear weapons from India, Pakistan and Israel as long as they did not brandish them.

Although Israel has never acknowledged its nuclear capability, it is still the worst kept secret in the world. But it does not openly flaunt its capability, which made it much easier for Arab neighbors like Egypt not to pursue their own nuclear programs in response. The United States turned a blind eye to India until it conducted a round of tests in 1998. Washington set aside its concerns so that it can cooperate in other areas.

North Korea’s Propaganda against the Arrival of the Thaad System Five Years After the ICBM Test: State and Union Relations in a Village

Three years ago we might be in a different place today, had the administration taken this approach. No, North Korea wouldn’t get disarmed by now. We could look at other measures to reduce tension, securing commitments of good behavior from the north and even a small gesture of disarmament in exchange for sanctions relief and economic assistance. This is not ideal and vastly preferable to Pyongyang having weapons.

North Korea has been using missiles and other weapons to up the military pressure on the South. Last week, North Koreans flew five drones into South Korea’s airspace, prompting South Korea to scramble fighter jets and helicopters to track them.

In a statement, the South Korean military said it spotted about 180 North Korean military aircraft between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. local time, a day after Pyongyang is believed to have conducted the failed test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

However, within hours of the presumed failed test, Washington and Seoul agreed to extend those large-scale exercises to an unknown date, according to a statement from the South Korean Air Force, which said “it was necessary to demonstrate a solid combined defense posture of the bilateral alliance under the current security crisis, heightened by North Korea’s provocations.”

The South Korean government believes the sanctions will be able to block illegal fund transactions with the North Koreans and remind the domestic and international community about the risks of doing business with them.

The residents of this village grabbed the attention of the national media when they protested the arrival of the Thaad system five years ago. Villagers here — and many South Koreans elsewhere — were concerned that it could place South Korea on the front lines of a potential Sino-American conflict.

China and Washington are fighting over Taiwan, the South China Sea, and global supply chains. Numerous anti-American banners line both sides of the road that winds through the village and up to the American military base. “Yankees, go home! Thaad, go home!” they demand.

Ms. Do and 20 other protesters sat on plastic chairs on the side of the road to shout against Thaad. We need peace!” An hour later, police officers ​removed them — carrying them in their chairs — so the road could be cleared for trucks and water and fuel tanks going up the hill to the Thaad base​.

South Korea’s Viigilant Storm: U.S. and South Korean Militia in the Pregalactic Regime of Cold War

Washington has provided security for Seoul since the Korean War. But after South Korea established diplomatic ties with Beijing in 1992, China quickly replaced the United States as the country’s biggest trading partner, helping to fuel a thriving, export-driven economy​. About 30 percent of South Korean exports go to China or Hong Kong​ — almost equaling the country’s trade with the ​United States, Japan and Europe combined.

The US military said it was aware of the North Korean launch, which “does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies,” according to a statement from the US Indo-Pacific Command.

The South Korean Air Force is scheduled to conduct a large-scale training exercise with the US next week.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog said “everybody is holding its breath about” a potential North Korean nuclear test, which could provide further “confirmation of a program which is moving full steam ahead in a way that is incredibly concerning.”

We are following this very closely. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said that indications go in a different direction, but they hope it doesn’t happen.

North Korea’s suspected launch of its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) failed on Thursday, according to a South Korean government source, as Pyongyang intensified its battery of missile tests against a backdrop of US and South Korean military drills that had been scheduled to end on Friday.

The joint exercises, named “Vigilant Storm,” began on Monday and involve 240 aircraft and “thousands of service members” from both countries, according to the US Defense Department.

North Korea’s most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile has been tested 30 times in a single day since March 24, and the North Korean missile over South Korea is 30

Japan’s Prime Minister said that the launches were intolerable. The ICBM had flown over the island of Honshu, but the government then issued an alert saying that it had flown over three prefectures. North Korea has fired an intermediate range missile in the past.

The South Korean government source said officials suspect it was a Hwasong-17, North Korea’s most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile that was first successfully tested on March 24.

It could, at least theoretically, put the entire US mainland in range of a North Korean nuclear warhead, but there’s a lot of unknowns about the missile’s capability to deliver a nuclear payload on target.

The count of missile tests by the North Koreans so far this year is 30, according to a CNN tally.

It was the highest number of North Korean short-range missiles fired in a single day, and included a ballistic missile that landed close to South Korean territorial waters for the first time since the division of Korea, according to the JCS.

Some people went to South Korea and Japan for shelter after the projectiles triggered alert, which included a suspected intercontinental missile.

He suggested that the region where the North Korean missile fell had a lot of fishing boats and could pose a threat to the livelihoods of South Koreans.

The allies started their large-scale training again this year after North Korea dramatically increased its weapons testing in an effort to exploit a division in the UN.

The military in South Korea scrambled about 80 fighter jets after detecting a large number of North Korean warplanes.

The Rise and Fall of North Korea: Joe Biden’s Stop at the U.S. Mission to the UN, and his Outlook for Cambodia after the Asian Nations Summit

“We’ve said before these kinds of activities are destabilizing to the region potentially. Austin called on them to cease that type of activity and start engaging in serious dialogue.

A United Nations Security Council meeting is expected to take place on Friday to discuss Pyongyang’s recent missile launches. The US Mission to the UN, UK, France, Albania, Ireland and Norway had called for an open meeting, according to the US Mission to the UN.

North Korea had broken multiple Security Council resolutions according to the US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

On the eve of their meeting, Biden underscored the United States will compete vociferously with China, and speak out regarding their human rights abuses, while keeping lines of communication open to ensure there is no conflict.

North Korea hates such displays of American military might at close range. The B-1B has been described as a nuclear strategic bomber by the North despite being switched to conventional weaponry in the mid 1990s.

The allies decided to extend the training to Saturday because of a series of North Korean missile launches on Thursday, which included an ICBM that halted trains in northern Japan.

President Joe Biden landed in Cambodia on Saturday still reveling in midterm election results that have produced an unexpected boost at home for his second two years in office.

A day after he arrived in Asia, he got another piece of news from back home that could give him a lift through the rest of his international swing – CNN and other outlets projected his party would retain control of the Senate.

The value of political capital when it comes to the international stage will come under scrutiny even as votes are still being counted, because of the large scale of the challenges overseas and the amount of intensive engagement needed to get tangible results for US alliances.

Biden’s stop at an Asian nations summit comes as advisers see a clear boost from bucking the historical and political trends in the midterm elections. While Biden’s message won’t shift dramatically, the weight behind it is unmistakably more robust after American voters delivered a message that surpassed the hopes of even the most optimistic White House officials.

The meeting will not lead to specific deliverables, according to Jake Sullivan who told reporters on Air Force One that the leaders will discuss the threats posed by North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs.

One day ahead of the high-stakes, one-on-one meeting for Biden with China’s leader, the trilateral comes. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

“This is my third trip, my third summit – second in-person, and it’s testament to the importance the United States places in our relationship with ASEAN and our commitment to ASEAN’s centrality. ASEAN is the heart of my administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy. Biden made a brief opening remarks as the summit began, saying that they continued to strengthen their commitment to work in lockstep.

Biden will lay out our vision for keeping up a pace of enhanced engagement and trying to also address concerns of importance to ASEAN in ways that they are looking for, keeping with an ongoing theme of building alliances in strategic competition with China.

The conflict inMyanmar, which the military seized power in a coup last year, is expected to be a main topic of discussion this weekend in Cambodia.

World leaders will discuss “efforts to promote respect for human rights, rule of law and good governance, the rules-based international order, and also to address the ongoing crisis in Burma.”

On Friday, Biden made a three-hour stop in Sharm El Shiekh, Egypt, where he attended the COP27 climate summit and met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

The role of North Korea in the nuclear mission and South Korea’s counter-attack during the last three years as a commander of the Space Force in South Korea

The 600mm MRL was first introduced three years ago, and production has been increased since late October of 2022 for deployment, Kim said in his speech to the plenary session on Saturday, according to KCNA. He later added that an additional 30 of the 600mm MRL will be deployed to the military simultaneously.

North Korea has used the past year to demonstrate its ability to perform military strikes, according to a professor in South Korea.

“Its recent missile launches were not technically impressive. A lot of tests were done at unusual times and various locations, and it shows that North Korea could launch different types of attack from many directions.

The DPCA said last month it would spend more than $2b over the next 10 years to strengthen the mission capabilities of its F-15K fighters, which would help it strike North Korea in the event of a conflict.

Washington is also not standing still. The Space Force command in South Korea was activated recently, with the new commander of the unit saying he is ready to confront any threat in the region.

The unit will be tasked with coordinating space operations and services such as missile warning, position navigation and timing and satellite communications.

Ankit Panda, a nuclear policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told CNN in mid-December that Pyongyang has emerged as a missile power.

“Most of the missiles they’ve launched this year are parts of military exercises. They are rehearsing for nuclear war. The big picture is this year, Panda said.