SEOUL
\nNorth Korea fired multiple cruise missiles Friday, Seoul\u2019s military said, continuing a fresh streak of weapons testing as Kim Jong Un\u2019s regime ramps up what it calls \u201cwar preparations\u201d.
\nSo far this year, Kim has declared South Korea his country\u2019s \u201cprincipal enemy\u201d, jettisoned agencies dedicated to reunification and outreach, and threatened war over \u201ceven 0.001 mm\u201d of territorial infringement.
\nPyongyang has also carried out ever more weapons tests, including multiple cruise missile launches, an \u201cunderwater nuclear weapon system\u201d test, plus firing a solid-fuelled hypersonic ballistic missile.
\nOn Friday, Seoul\u2019s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military had \u201cdetected at around 11 am (0200 GMT) the firing of multiple unidentified cruise missiles\u201d into the sea off the country\u2019s west coast. The South Korean military has \u201cstepped up surveillance in close coordination with the United States\u201d, the JCS said in the statement.
\nThe military is \u201cclosely monitoring for signs of additional activity\u201d by the North Korean army, it said, adding they were \u201cclosely analysing\u201d the launch.Unlike their ballistic counterparts, the testing of cruise missiles is not banned under current UN sanctions on Pyongyang.
\nCruise missiles tend to be jet-propelled and fly at a lower altitude than more sophisticated ballistic missiles, making them harder to detect and intercept.Analysts have warned that North Korea could be testing cruise missiles ahead of sending them to Russia for use in Ukraine, with Washington and Seoul claiming Kim has shipped weapons to Moscow, despite rafts of UN sanctions banning any such moves.
\n\u201cNorth Korea could be using recent launches as a way to show Russians the capability of their missiles before sending them off to Moscow,\u201d Han Kwon-hee of Korea Association of Defence Industry Studies. \u201cThe need to do it could be especially acute given recent reports of North Korean shells going awry when used by Russian troops,\u201d he said.
\nEven as Kim ramps up the rhetorical threats against the South, the testing spree plus suspected Russian arms deals indicate \u201ca dog that barks never bites,\u201d he said. \u201cIf he was really serious about a war, he wouldn\u2019t have said it but kept it in the dark for a surprise attack. He also wouldn\u2019t have sold arms to Russia if he were really into going to war with the South.\u201d
\nThe latest launch follows Kim Jong Un inspecting warships at a naval shipyard as he looks to bolster his maritime forces as part of \u201cwar preparations\u201d, state media said Friday.\u201dThe strengthening of the naval force presents itself as the most important issue in reliably defending the maritime sovereignty of the country and stepping up the war preparations at present,\u201d Kim said at the Nampho Dockyard, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
\nA nuclear-powered submarine was on Kim\u2019s strategic weapons wish list set out at a key party congress in 2021, along with a hypersonic warhead, spy satellites and solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles. During his visit to the dockyard, Kim was briefed on various warships under construction as well as preparations for a \u201cnew huge plan\u201d assigned by the ruling party.
\nNo details of the plan were provided. Kim \u201cexpressed expectation that the workers of the dockyard would successfully build on the world level the major warships,\u201d KCNA said.North Korea last year launched what it called its first \u201ctactical nuclear attack submarine\u201d, which Seoul\u2019s military at the time said did not look to be operational.
\nAnalysts said the vessel appeared to be modified from an existing diesel-electric submarine originally designed in the 1950s, and have posed questions about its limitations and vulnerabilities as a platform. The US stations about 30,000 troops in the South to help it fend off military threats from Pyongyang. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SEOUL North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles Friday, Seoul\u2019s military said, continuing a fresh streak of weapons testing as Kim Jong Un\u2019s regime ramps up what it calls \u201cwar preparations\u201d. So far this year, Kim has declared South Korea his country\u2019s \u201cprincipal enemy\u201d, jettisoned agencies dedicated to reunification and outreach, and threatened war over \u201ceven […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384916,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-384898","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n