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| This video footage released by North Korea's state-run Korean Central Television (KCTV) on Thursday shows what North Korea has described as a test launch of "newly developed large-caliber multiple launch guided rocket system" conducted the previous day. The KCTV intentionally pixelated the launcher. KCTV-Yonhap |
By Jung Da-min, Kim Yoo-chul
North Korea could fire missiles this month as its apparent displeasure with the South and the United States is growing, South Korea's top spy agency said Thursday.
"Senior officials at the National Intelligence Service (NIS) indicated the spy agency is expecting to see additional missile launches by the North in August as Pyongyang was evidently regarding the launches as a message to Seoul not to go forward with a planned joint military drill with the United States Forces Korea (USFK) this month," Liberty Korea Party Rep. Lee Eun-jae told reporters after a National Assembly's Intelligence Committee meeting which was attended by NIS chief Suh Hoon.
"It's been widely believed that the North wanted to improve its weapons systems before the start of working-level talks with U.S. negotiators," Lee cited the NIS as saying.
South Korea hasn't canceled the drill, so North Korea is likely to choose to reiterate its displeasure in the form of more launches. The North recently tested short-range ballistic missiles, Cheong Wa Dae noted.
At the meeting, the NIS said communication channels remained open between Pyongyang and Washington officials while the North was refraining from sending strong messages to the U.S. The two countries have been working on reconciling differences over the scope of denuclearization by the North and sanctions relief from the U.S.
U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said early Thursday (KST) that the North's recent missile launches were not a violation of the country's leader Kim Jong-un's promise to U.S. President Donald Trump that his regime will not conduct long-range missile tests, in what seems to be support for Trump's diplomatic engagement with the North.
The NIS said Kim Jong-un has been focusing on sending messages to the United States and South Korea in July by cutting his outdoor appearances to eight from 20 last year in the same month. Since his summit with Trump on June 30, Kim has been prioritizing political and military activities over those focused on economy and people's livelihood. The NIS also said North Korea was operating some 70 submarines.
On a related note, military experts in Seoul underestimated worries that the new type of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) launched recently by the North could weaken Seoul's Patriot missile defense system.
Currently, South Korea has been deploying Patriot PAC-3 missile systems which can reach incoming projectiles at altitudes between 15 kilometers and 20 kilometers. The military is also planning to deploy the upgraded Patriot PAC-3 MSE system, which can engage targets at higher altitudes of up to 40 kilometers, as well as M-SAM (modified version of the medium-range surface-to-air missile) Block II in the near future.
The Patriot defense system has been preparing for various patterns of missiles trajectories, the experts noted.
The South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities have so far assessed that the missiles launched July 31 shared similar characteristics to the new SRBMs launched July 25, according to the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Thursday.
But North Korea earlier in the day announced North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a test of a recently developed "large-caliber multiple launch guided rocket system," in a report on the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The KCNA report said that the new multiple rocket launcher (MRL) was a "new type of guided ordnance rocket" that would play a "main role in ground military operations."
Later in the afternoon, North Korea's state-run Korean Central Television (KCTV) released images of the MRLs test, but the video footage was intentionally pixelated, making it hard to see detailed parts of the launcher.
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| This video footage released by North Korea's state-run Korean Central Television (KCTV) on Thursday shows a launcher for what North Korea has described as a "newly developed large-caliber multiple launch guided rocket system." North Korea conducted a test launch of it the previous day. The KCTV intentionally pixelated the launcher. KCTV-Yonhap |
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