North Korea Moves 250 Tactical Nuke Missiles To Border With South

ANALYSIS – Message to U.S. during elections? Things are heating up on the Korean peninsula. The aggressive North Korean nuke move was publicized at a ceremony where leader Kim Jong Un called for a ceaseless expansion of his nuclear program.

This, as state media photos showed lines of army-green launcher trucks packing a large street with seemingly thousands of spectators attending the event.

The event celebrated the delivery of the new weapons to the military. Marked by a massive fireworks display, Kim described the new missile launchers as an “up-to-date tactical attack weapon” he had “personally designed.”

ABC News noted:

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said the launchers were freshly produced by the county's munitions factories and designed to fire “tactical” ballistic missiles — a term that describes systems capable of delivering lower-yield nuclear weapons.

Each launcher holds four short-range Hwasong-11 (KN-23) short range ballistic missiles capable of carrying 4.5-ton super-large warheads at a range of 112 miles. Longer range version can strike as far as 600 miles.

The 250 missiles would theoretically be able to cover a large part of South Korea's capital area, where about half of the country's 51 million people live.

The large warhead also makes it capable of high impact strikes against fortified positions or critical infrastructure.

QCN reported:

North Korea has been expanding its lineup of mobile short-range weapons designed to overwhelm missile defenses in South Korea, while also pursuing intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to reach the U.S. mainland.

Kim has reportedly authorized his military to respond with preemptive nuclear strikes (first strike) if it believes the leadership as being under threat.

QCN added:

Kim said at Sunday's event that the new launchers would give his frontline units “overwhelming” firepower over South Korea and make the operation of tactical nuclear weapons more practical and efficient.

Cha Du Hyeogn, a principal research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said that Pyongyang wanted to show it had the capacity to strike its neighbor with smaller nukes.

“South Korea talks of the U.S. extended nuclear deterrence commitment or its three-pronged deterrence system and North Korea is showing it seeks to have the ability to attack that cannot be managed by such (systems),” said Cha.

The North's increasingly strident rhetoric was also likely aimed at the U.S. presidential election, Cha said, potentially preparing the ground for negotiations if former U.S. President Donald Trump wins.

However, there is another additional reason. South Korea and the U.S. are set to hold a major joint military exercise in August. The annual drill is known as the Ulchi Freedom Shield.

North Korea has long condemned joint drills between the United States and South Korea as a rehearsal for invasion.

Concerns about Kim's nuclear program have grown as he has demonstrated an intent to deploy battlefield atomic weapons along the North's border with South Korea.

Formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), North Korea has been under United Nations sanctions for its ballistic missile and nuclear program since 2006.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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