[WEEKLY FOCUS] N. KOREA LAUNCHES CRUISE MISSILES

북한, 열흘 새 4차례 순항미사일 발사. Let’s delve deeper into the North’s course of provocations. We’re joined by our defense correspondent Choi Min-jung for more. Great to have you back Min-jung. Thank you for having me. Now, Min-jung, the latest cruise missiles were fired on Tuesday as you reported. Were they also the newly-developed “Pulhwasal-3-31?“ Well on the 24th, and the 28th, North Korea is believed to have test-fired the new “Pulhwasal-3-31.“ But the regime confirmed that the most recent launch on Tuesday, was an existing strategic cruise missile, the “Hwasal-2.“ The North’s state media reported Wednesday, that the launch was aimed at checking its rapid counterattack posture, and improving its strategic striking capability, and stressed that it did not pose a threat to the safety of neighboring countries. It appears that the North wanted to highlight that the weapon is fully developed, and has been deployed to frontline units. North Korea has test-fired cruise missiles, the “Hwasal-1“ and “Hwasal-2“, a couple of times since 2021. And these missiles have a standard flight range of 1,500 to 2,000 kilometers, and they also fly low,.. making them harder to detect. Now on Wednesday, North Korea released photos of the launch to show that the “Hwasal-2“ missile is capable of flying at low altitudes. Meanwhile, the “Pulhwasal-3-31“ can be seen as the upgraded version of the “Hwasal-1 and 2“ missiles. The name itself hints that it’s more powerful than the missiles named “Hwasal“ which means “arrow,“,.. with “Pulhwasal“ translating to “fire arrow.“ Experts also say that the “Pulhwasal“ missile is likely better capable of delivering nuclear warheads. Right, so the regime has been firing different types of cruise missiles, but Min-jung, there were THREE cruise missile launches in less than a week. What’s the motive behind such continued provocations? Well experts say,.. the series of missile launches is widely seen as the North’s attempt to diversify its weapons system. Let’s take a listen. “North Korea wants it to appear that there are a wide range of threats that they could pose against South Korea and the United States, so that they’re intimidating so that they could coerce us, they deter us from taking action against them.“ The diversity of threats is also in line with key military goals unveiled by the regime three years ago. Under a five-year plan laid out in 2021, the North said it aims to develop five types of new weapons,.. which include tactical nuclear weapons, a new ICBM, hypersonic gliding flight warheads, nuclear-powered submarines, as well as a reconnaissance satellite. “North Korea said the latest cruise missile test was conducted without considering the geopolitical situation, so it’s likely that the regime’s intention is to complete the five military tasks related to this new weapon on their own timeline.“ The regime’s move to diversify weapons is dialing up tensions on the Korean Peninsula, forcing South Korea to seek stronger cooperation with the U.S. and Japan South Korea’s ambassador to the U.S., Cho Hyun-dong said this week, that Seoul will not be “swayed“ by Pyongyang’s continuous provocations and threats, and that it would strengthen its cooperation with the U.S. and Japan. He also reiterated President Yoon Suk Yeol’s remarks, that Seoul “will never be perturbed or will never bow to those provocations.“ Seoul’s envoy to Washington said that despite the heightened tensions, South Korea and its allies will continue to push for dialogue with North Korea. But even with the high-intensity threats by the North, Seoul and Washington agree that Pyongyang does not appear to be preparing for a full-scale war. However, they are not ruling out the possibility of the regime engaging in future provocations. Now South Korea’s Commander-in-Chief also gave a warning to the North, amid its escalating hostile rhetoric and provocations South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol labeled the North Korean regime as the only “irrational group“ in the world, that has legalized the preemptive use of nuclear weapons. The remarks came as Yoon on Wednesday presided over the annual integrated defense meeting at the Blue House... #NorthKorea #Missile #Cruise_missile #Provocation #북한 #순항미사일 #도발 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2024-02-03, 12:00 (KST)