2020
Sep 6, 2020,03:03pm EDT
North Korea Readies Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile Test
Guy Snodgrass Contributor
Aerospace & Defense
Satellite imagery of a North Korean shipyard released on September 4, 2020 suggests preparations are ongoing for an upcoming test of a Pukguksong-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
The report, authored by defense experts Victor Cha and Joseph Bermudez and released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies’s (CSIS) Beyond Parallel program, suggests these “launch preparations might indicate the highly-speculated “October surprise,” which would be consistent with Beyond Parallel historical data that shows heightened provocations around U.S. presidential election years.”
North Korea is widely believed to have advanced its ballistic missile and SLBM capabilities during the past year, and current defense sector speculation points to an expected test either during Foundation Day on September 9th or the Korean Workers’ Party Foundation Day on October 10th.
Beyond Parallel also highlighted the highly unusual presence of two ROMEO-class submarines anchored within the bay of the Mayang-do Submarine Base. Cha nd Bermudez note that, “While a single ROMEO submarine is occasionally seen here, it is very unusual that two have been observed anchored in the bay... [P]reparations to observe a forthcoming SLBM test should not be ruled out at this time.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/guysnodgrass/2020/09/06/north-korea-readies-submarine-launched-ballistic-missile-test/?sh=2bcca5e64da3
2019
North Korea fires 2 projectiles after offering talks with US
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
September 10, 2019
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched two projectiles toward the sea on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, hours after the North offered to resume nuclear diplomacy with the United States but warned its dealings with Washington may end without new U.S. proposals. The launches and demand for new proposals were apparently aimed at pressuring the United States to make concessions when the North Korea-U.S. talks restart. North Korea is widely believed to want the United States to provide security guarantees and extensive relief from U.S.-led sanctions in return for limited denuclearization steps.
The North Korean projectiles fired from its South Phyongan province, which surrounds its capital city of Pyongyang, flew about 330 kilometers (205 miles) across the country and in the direction of the waters off its east coast, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and Defense Ministry. The military said South Korea will monitor possible additional launches. The JCS didn’t immediately say whether the weapons were ballistic missiles or rocket artillery.
“More detailed analysis is needed to determine the exact specifications,” JCS spokesman Kim Joon-rak said. Tuesday’s launches were the eighth round of launches since late July and the first since Aug. 24. The previous seven launches have revealed short-range missile and rocket artillery systems that experts say would potentially expand its capabilities to strike targets throughout South Korea, including U.S. military bases.
On Monday night, the North’s first vice foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, said North Korea is willing to resume nuclear diplomacy in late September but that Washington must come to the negotiating table with acceptable new proposals. She said if the proposals don’t satisfy North Korea, dealings between the two countries may end.
https://apnews.com/article/asia-pacific-ap-top-news-north-korea-international-news-seoul-8f65ef636c4c4123a934580c90a216df
2018 (a pause)
North Korea agrees to shut down missile test sites as leaders hail 'leap forward'
Benjamin Haas in Seoul
@haasbenjamin
Wed
19 Sep 2018 12.57 EDT
First published on Tue 18 Sep 2018 23.28 EDT
North Korea will shut down key missile test facilities in the presence of “international experts” and is willing to close its only known nuclear complex if the United States makes reciprocal measures, South Korean president Moon Jae-in has announced in a joint press conference with Kim Jong-un.
The two leaders also agreed during a three-day summit in Pyongyang to connect two rail lines, on the east and west side of the peninsula, across one of the most militarised borders in the world. Kim also said he would visit Seoul in the “near future”, a move that would make him the first North Korean leader to visit the South’s capital.
North and South Korea agreed that the Korean Peninsula should turn into a “land of peace without nuclear weapons and nuclear threats”, Moon said. Any transport links would require the approval of the US-led United Nations Command, which oversees the border region.
“There is not only going to be a smooth road ahead, there will be challenges and trials, but the more we overcome them the stronger we will become,” Kim said. “We are not afraid of future challenges.” The agreement signed in Pyongyang “will open a higher level for the improvement in relations” between the two Koreas, Kim added, describing it as a “leap forward” toward peace.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/19/north-korea-shut-missile-test-summit-kim-jong-un-moon
2017
North Korea launches missile over Japan
By James Griffiths, Zachary Cohen and Joshua Berlinger, CNN
Updated 6:14 AM EDT, Fri
September 15, 2017
CNN — In a major show of defiance to the international community, North Korea fired a ballistic missile over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido Friday. The launch is the second to fly over Japan in less than a month, and the first since North Korea’s sixth nuclear test and new United Nations sanctions on the country.
North Korean state media has yet to reference the launch, but a commentary published in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper Friday said “no matter how strong the pressure is, it doesn’t work on us.” Tokyo and Washington will be seeking to up that pressure at the United Nations Friday, with the two governments calling a snap meeting of the Security Council for Friday afternoon, ahead of the General Assembly next week.
Speaking after the launch, the first since North Korea’s sixth nuclear test, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the launch was “totally unacceptable” and went against “the international community’s strong, united will for a peaceful solution.”
Friday’s missile test follows the release of a statement Wednesday, in which the North Korean state news agency KCNA threatened the “four islands of the (Japanese) archipelago should be sunken into the sea by the nuclear bomb of Juche,” referring to the ruling ideology of North Korea.
https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/14/asia/north-korea-missile-launch/index.html
2016
North Korea claims success in fifth nuclear test
9 September 2016
North Korea says it has successfully carried out its fifth nuclear test, in continued defiance of UN resolutions. A 5.3 magnitude tremor had earlier been detected near its nuclear test site.
South Korea believes it is the North's biggest-ever test, raising fears it has made significant nuclear advances. South Korean President Park Geun-hye called it an act of "self-destruction" showing the "maniacal recklessness" of leader Kim Jong-un. The US warned of "serious consequences".
China's foreign ministry said Beijing was resolutely opposed to the test and urged North Korea to avoid further action that would worsen the situation.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37314927
2015
North Korea warns U.S. it’s ready to use nuclear weapons ‘any time’
By Jethro Mullen, CNN
Updated 9:42 PM EDT, Tue
September 15, 2015
CNN — In its latest bout of saber rattling, North Korea says it is ready to use nuclear weapons against the United States and other foes if they pursue “their reckless hostile policy” toward Kim Jong Un’s regime.
In a statement carried by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, an atomic energy official said Pyongyang is improving its nuclear weapons arsenal “in quality and quantity.”
“If the U.S. and other hostile forces persistently seek their reckless hostile policy towards the DPRK and behave mischievously, the DPRK is fully ready to cope with them with nuclear weapons any time,” the director of the North Korean Atomic Energy Institute said, using an abbreviation of the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
North Korea’s main nuclear complex at Yongbyon, which includes a uranium enrichment plant and a plutonium production reactor, is operating normally, the official told the news agency.
https://www.cnn.com/2015/09/15/asia/north-korea-nuclear-program/index.html
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