How North Korea’s Latest Long-Range Missile Display Could Impact Global Politics
Kim Jong Un’s Show of Strength: How Will the International Community Respond?
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has shown off his latest asset to protect his government: a high-speed missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the United States and a teenage daughter who protects a Cold War-era dynastic family.
Images released by the country’s official media of a military parade in Pyongyang on Thursday showed the largest single display of intercontinental ballistic missiles by Kim Jong Un in nearly a decade in power. The Hwasong-17, believed to be the largest cruise ICBM in the world, has 11 canisters and five canisters for new fuel ICBMs, experts said.
The weapons display with his daughter, believed to be 10 years old, sent a message to the world that North Korea is not selling its nuclear arsenal anytime soon. It also tells its own people that the nuclear weapons program is too expensive for the economy as it protects generations of North Koreans.
“Kim Joo Ae’s participation in these high-profile events shows that her father, Kim Jong Un, is trying to strengthen the tension between our country’s nuclear weapons program and his family’s identity and survival,” said So Kim, a current Korea analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency. Policy practice at LMI, a US-based management consulting firm.
All ICBMs are on mobile launchers and many types are on display. This increases the possibility of an attack that can overwhelm the US missile defense. The solid-propellant missile, which can move and fire faster than the current arsenal of liquid fuel ICBMs, will give Washington less time to fire a shot.
“Using canisters means solid fuel missiles, if little fuel is produced,” said Joseph Dempsey of the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Defense and Military Research Association. “Obviously, in the canister, we don’t see missiles that are actually related to this system, and it’s probably empty for parade purposes.”
North Korea has been working on solid-fuel missiles for years and in recent months has tested new engines that could be used on long-range missiles to strike US military bases in Japan and Guam, as well as ICBMs to strike the US mainland. .
Pyongyang appears to be working on silo-based ballistic missiles and missiles capable of carrying multiple warheads, according to weapons expert Joost Oliemans, one of the authors of the North Korean Resistance Forces book. .
“Perhaps more importantly, there is no doubt that North Korea is investing heavily in MIRV and acquiring technology that could pose some challenges to US ground defense,” he said.
The Hwasong-17 is designed to carry multiple warheads and North Korea said it had successfully tested it last year. Kim’s daughter made her first state media appearance in November during one of those tests when she held her father’s hand and was guided by an ICBM before launch.
Since then, he has gained prominence in the country’s media. When the soldiers applauded in the parade, he went into his father’s arms. He then sat in a chair of honor to watch the ceremony, which included skydivers in neon lights and thousands of rebel military personnel shouting Kim’s praises.
State media are now referring to her as a “prestige girl” and speeches are fueling speculation that she is being groomed for a leadership role. In 2010, 26-year-old Kim Jong-un appeared in a military parade with his father, Kim Jong-il.
His presence that day, the fact that he was already a four-star general and had been given a prominent position in the ruling party a few weeks earlier, were signs of his successor.
It is very unlikely that Kim Jong-un will induct his elementary school-aged daughter into the current government position, which does little more than guarantee the official status of our move. Since Kim is 39 years old, he could be in power for many years. However, he was overweight and a smoker who had struggled with health issues, so consistency was a concern.
Rachel Minyoung Lee, regional affairs manager for the Vienna-based Open Nuclear Network, said it is important for the media to address Zhu Ae over time, but it is too early to read anything about the succession.
“At this point, I doubt it, because the succession is a fierce power game, it requires a lot of balance, and therefore the North Korean media must be careful,” he said, adding that Ju Ae’s speech had a strong propaganda effect on some. people sector such as reinforcing the importance of weapons development and production for the security of future generations.
Ju Ae’s popularity is the latest example of Kim’s penchant for sharing the spotlight with famous women. In addition to making frequent appearances with his wife, his sister, Kim Yo-on, changed his face
