North Korea claims it has deployed 250 new mobile launchers for ballistic missiles that could carry or deliver nuclear strikes against South Korea and US military installations located there, a move that reveals its most extensive manifestation of rocket capability under Kim Jong Un.
On Sunday, in Pyongyang, the new mobile launchers were officially handed over to frontline military units with a commissioning ceremony marked by cheering crowds and fireworks, according to reports from official Korean Central News Agency.
“The ever-changing global security environment and reckless expansion of US-centered military circles lead us to the conclusion that we need more thorough preparation of our national nuclear capabilities and nuclear posture,” said Kim in KCNA.
According to experts, the images released by state media showed what analysts said was the short-range ballistic missile Hwasong 11D launched from four missile carriers; such missiles have been shown to have been tested within distances between 100 kilometers (62 miles) and 300 kilometers (186 miles), although it is not clear whether North Korea has actually made 1000 of these missiles.
In just minutes, these launchers can be hidden somewhere and rolled out for quick-fire strikes sending missiles into vast parts of South Korea as well as American bases there.
The deployment underscores Pyongyang’s threats toward Seoul that are “both nuclear and especially conventional,” wrote Vann Van Diepen, an ex-US government official who contributes at MAY edition of the 38 North Program.
South Korean officials have said that the missiles are part of systems which North Korea also exhibited recently with a view towards their possible use by Russia in war against Ukraine.
The US, South Korea and others accuse North Korea of firing off heavy artillery shells while launching its new series of short range ballistic missile. North Korea had denied this charge together with Moscow.
According to Wonsik Shin (South Korean Defense Minister), Pyongyang may conduct a nuclear test close to United States presidential elections, seeking to increase its profile on global stage even as Kim is unveiling new warheads capable of hitting United States and its Asian allies. North Korea last tested a nuclear device in September 2017.
This weekend’s festivities come as the South Korean government believes that a “significant human cost” was caused by flooding in North Korea’s northwest; but there has been no confirmation of fatalities in the media of the country.
Although South Korea had offered aid due to the calamity, suggested reports were turned down by Kim who said enemies are enemies. However, should assistance be required, Pyongyang would go to its “truest friends at Moscow,” according to KCNA.
Food insecurity stands to worsen when any loss of arable land from flooded regions further compromises food production within such areas that are already struggling with providing for their people, as estimated around 40 percent of them being malnourished according to UN World Food Program.
