Kim Jong Un celebrates frontline delivery of 250 nuclear-capable missile launchers

• The launchers are expected to make the operation of tactical nuclear weapons more practical and efficient.
• North Korea has unveiled a new missile called the Hwasong-11, which analysts believe can travel up to 100 kilometers.
• Kim Jong Un urged his country to prepare for a prolonged confrontation with the United States.

North Korea celebrated the delivery of 250 nuclear-capable missile launchers to frontline military units at a ceremony where leader Kim Jong Un urged a relentless expansion of the military’s nuclear program to counter perceived US threats, state media reported Monday.

Concerns about Kim’s nuclear program have increased as he has shown an intent to deploy battlefield nuclear weapons along North Korea’s border with South Korea. He has also authorized his military to carry out preemptive nuclear strikes if it perceives a threat to the leadership.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency reported that the launchers, recently produced by the country’s munitions factories, are designed to fire “tactical” ballistic missiles. This term refers to systems capable of delivering lower-yield nuclear weapons.

At Sunday’s event in Pyongyang, Kim stated that the new launchers would provide his frontline units with “overwhelming” firepower against South Korea and make the operation of tactical nuclear weapons more practical and efficient. State media photos displayed lines of army-green launcher trucks filling a large street, with thousands of spectators attending the event, which featured fireworks.

North Korea has been expanding its arsenal of mobile short-range weapons to overwhelm missile defenses in South Korea, while also pursuing intercontinental ballistic missiles aimed at reaching the US mainland.

Experts believe that Kim’s escalating weapons tests and threats aim to pressure the United States into recognizing North Korea as a nuclear power and ending the US-led sanctions imposed on the country over its nuclear program. They also suggest that North Korea might be trying to heighten tensions during a US election year.

Recently, Kim has used Russia’s war on Ukraine as a distraction to accelerate his weapons development. In response, the United States, South Korea, and Japan have expanded their joint military exercises and enhanced their nuclear deterrence strategies centered on strategic US military assets. During a briefing, Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated that the South Korean and US militaries are closely analyzing North Korea’s weapons development and require further monitoring to confirm the operational readiness of the missile systems displayed on Sunday. He did not provide a specific assessment on whether the systems could be deployed.

Lee said that the missiles are likely shorter in range compared to some of North Korea’s most powerful short-range ballistic missiles, which have demonstrated the ability to travel more than 600 kilometers.

In recent months, North Korea has unveiled a new missile called the Hwasong-11, which analysts believe can travel up to 100 kilometers. If deployed in frontline areas, these missiles could potentially cover large portions of South Korea’s greater capital area, where about half of the country’s 51 million people reside.

In his speech at Sunday’s event, Kim called on his country to prepare for a prolonged confrontation with the United States and urged for a relentless expansion of military strength. He justified his military buildup as a response to the “increasingly savage” military cooperation between the United States and its regional allies, which he claimed are now forming a “nuclear-based military bloc.”

“It would be our choice to either pursue dialogue or confrontation, but our lesson and conclusion from the past 30 years … is that confrontation is what we should be prepared more thoroughly for,” said Kim.

“The United States we are facing is not just an administration that comes and goes after a few years, but a hostile nation that our children and grandchildren will be dealing for generations to come and that also illustrates the necessity to continuously improve our self-defense capabilities.”

Kim also stated that holding the weapons ceremony while the country was recovering from disastrous flooding demonstrated its determination to “push ahead with strengthening our national defense capabilities without stagnation under any circumstances.”

The floods in late July submerged thousands of homes and vast areas of farmland in regions near the border with China.

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