North Korea’s recent test firing of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) on Friday. According to state media, the launch is a new autonomous navigation system, which North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally oversaw.
The North Korean state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced that the test firing confirmed the accuracy and reliability of this advanced navigation system. It described the event as part of the regular activities aimed at rapid technological development in weapon systems. Despite not specifying the missile type or number, imagery revealed the SRBM to be the Hwasong-11D tactical ballistic missile. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed several SRBMs were fired from Wonsan, traveling approximately 300 km before landing in the East China Sea. “We strongly condemn the North Korean missile launch as a clear act of provocation that seriously threatens the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula,” read the release.
The missile launch did not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or its allies, as noted by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, though the destabilizing impact of North Korea’s unlawful weapons program. The U.S. reaffirmed its “ironclad” commitment to the defense of South Korea and Japan, emphasizing ongoing close consultation with allies and partners.
The missile tests coincided with a notable series of events. The Friday launch also followed a Thursday drill over central South Korea between two U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighters and two Republic of Korea Air Force F-35A Lightning fighters. A Pacific Air Forces release stated that four F-22s assigned to 19th and 199th Expeditionary Fighter Squadrons, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, and currently operating from Kadena Air Base, Japan, arrived on May 13 at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, to provide dissimilar training and test agile combat employment capabilities within the region.
A U.S. Air Force RC-135U Combat Sent reconnaissance aircraft flew a nine-hour sortie on the same day as Kim Jong Un’s observed missile test. The spy plane’s flight, starting from Okinawa’s Kadena Air Base, covered 2,300 miles across the Korean Peninsula, notably flying just 100 miles south of Wonsan, the launch site.
KCNA also reported on Saturday that North Korean leader Kim visited a defense industrial complex on Friday and was satisfied with their production for the first half of 2024 and the prospect for fulfillment of the yearly munitions production plan. Imagery released by the state media showed the North Korean leader touring a facility with a number of transporter erector launchers for the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and several launchers carrying the missiles.
Relevant articles:
– North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile Following U.S. Air Force Drills – USNI News , USNI News, 05/23/2024
– US Spy Plane Sweeps North Korean Border, Newsweek, 05/21/2024
– North Korea fires multiple short-range ballistic missiles, Seoul says, Yahoo News Australia, 05/20/2024
– Rare photos show life inside North Korea’s top-secret military, Business Insider, 05/20/2024
– range ballistic missiles, Seoul says, DD News, 05/20/2024
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