Days after North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un hinted at increasing the war readiness of his country’s nuclear arsenal, North Korea’s military launched a number of short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan.
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, the missiles were launched from the North’s capital, Pyongyang, and traveled nearly 220 miles before hitting the waters in the east of the Korean peninsula. No damage was reported in the incident.
The South Korean military called the firing a blatant attempt by the North to disturb the peace of the Korean peninsula.
Now North Korean state-owned media has also released multiple photos of Kim visiting the uranium enrichment plant of the country. This is the first time that the North has publicly released the images of its uranium factory. During his visit to the facility, Kim urged his military to “exponentially” increase the plant’s capacity to speed up the production of nuclear weapons.
North Korea marked the 76th anniversary of the founding of its independent government on September 9. During his combative speech that day, Kim announced an increase in the nuclear capabilities of his country in order to counter what he perceives as a rising threat from the United States and the Western world. The autocratic leader claimed that North Korea is facing a “grave threat” due to the “reckless expansion” of a regional military bloc led by the United States. He further noted that this military bloc is now challenging North Korea with its rising nuclear capabilities.
While this is not the first time that Kim has vowed to increase his country’s nuclear arsenal, the timing of these remarks is particularly important as they came less than two months before the upcoming US presidential elections. Geopolitical and military experts believe that North Korea may test its nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles before the November 5 elections to pressure the upcoming American administration and gain favorable results at the negotiation table when the two countries are likely to meet in the near future.
North’s media also released a photo of Kim inspecting a 12-axle vehicle that will become his country’s biggest missile launching pad after its launch. This has also raised speculation that the North is possibly manufacturing intercontinental ballistic missiles that could target the mainland United States. The country already possesses weapons to strike most parts of South Korea.
As the North continues to expand its weaponry since 2022, the US and South Korea have retaliated by staging advanced military drills, Ulchi Freedom Shield, which the North has labeled as “invasion rehearsals.”
The latest round of these drills was conducted from August 19 to August 29. Before these drills, North Korea deployed 250 nuclear-capable missile launchers along its border with the South, further escalating tensions at the hostile border.
