Missile tests were part of war drill
These are three of the eight photos released by North Korea’s state-run Rodong Sinmun on its front page, Wednesday, one day after the North fired three ballistic missiles into the East Sea. In the photo on the right, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watches one of the missiles. / Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
North Korea said Wednesday the latest test-firing of three ballistic missiles was to simulate preemptive strikes on South Korea’s ports and airbases.
This is to counter the U.S. military forces to be deployed on the Korean Peninsula in the event of a war, it said.
“The tests examined the operational features of the detonating devices of nuclear warheads mounted on ballistic rockets at the designated altitude over the target area,” Pyongyang’s state-controlled Korean Central Television (KCTV) said.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the tests of three ballistic missiles ― presumably two short-range Scuds and one medium-range Rodong ― were made by “limiting the firing range to simulate pre-emptive attacks on South Korean ports and airfields hosting U.S. military hardware.”
Citing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un who monitored the test, the KCNA assessed that the country’s missile units are capable of carrying out “accurate and precise” strikes at any time.
The military officials and experts here speculated that Pyongyang intended to show its ability to destroy U.S. military assets in the wake of a decision to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here.
They said Pyongyang is testing a high-arc trajectory on its missiles to ensure that they will hit any target in South Korea regardless of their type and range.
“North Korea is trying to emphasize that it can attack all U.S. military assets,” said Jeon Hyun-joon, director of the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Research Institute. “Those assets include ones that are located close to Seoul, such as in Pyeongtaek and Uijeongbu in Gyeonggi Province, and also Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province where the THAAD will be set up.”
Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute, said “Pyongyang is taking it as a given fact that THAAD will be deployed and it is taking relevant steps to counter the anti-missile battery.”
Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University, warned that the reclusive state will ratchet up provocations. He cited that Kim Jong-un gave an order concerning the next missile test after monitoring the launch, Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Panmunjom Mission of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) denounced the U.S. for its right to exercise operational control (OPCON) over South Korean forces during wartime in line with an agreement between Seoul and Washington.
“In case the U.S. imperialists transfer OPCON to the puppet forces, they will lose not only the pretext for staying in South Korea but also the excuse for interfering in Korean issues,”
the KPA spokesman said. “It wants to occupy South Korea eternally and then seize hegemony in East Asia and then the rest of the world.” KPA warned that the American troops will be the first target of the North Korean military if a war breaks out.