North Korean Leader Oversees New Missile Test, State Media Reports

KNCA/Reuters

North Korean President Kim Jong Un.

North Korean state media has reported that the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, personally oversaw the launch of two new air defence missiles.

According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the weapons possessed “superior combat capability” and incorporated “unique technology”, although no further technical details were provided.

The launches, conducted on Saturday were said to demonstrate that the projectiles are well-suited to destroying a range of aerial targets, including drones and cruise missiles.

The test came only hours after South Korea confirmed that its forces had fired warning shots on Tuesday when around 30 North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), which separates the two countries. The United Nations Command confirmed the incursion, reported by Yonhap News Agency.

Pyongyang has since accused Seoul of a “deliberate provocation”. Meanwhile, South Korea and the United States have been carrying out large-scale joint military exercises in the region since Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet South Korea’s President, Lee Jae Myung, at a summit in Washington on Monday. Lee, who was recently elected after campaigning on a platform of improving inter-Korean ties, has faced rejection from Pyongyang. Kim’s sister dismissed Seoul’s overtures for dialogue, while Kim himself has denounced the joint military drills, describing them as “most hostile and confrontational”.

Earlier this month, Kim vowed to accelerate his programme to expand North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. In January, Pyongyang claimed to have tested a new intermediate-range ballistic missile fitted with a hypersonic warhead, which it said would “reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region”.

Concerns have also been raised in Seoul about possible Russian assistance to North Korea’s missile programme. Senior South Korean officials have alleged that Moscow has provided equipment to bolster Pyongyang’s air defence network in return for North Korean support in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Whether the latest missile launches involved Russian technology remains unclear.

North Korea, one of the world’s most repressive states, has been ruled by the Kim family for decades. The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war, as the 1953 armistice which ended the Korean War was never followed by a formal peace treaty.

Sources: BBC



PUKMEDIA