North Korea’s state-run media, the Korean Central News Agency, reported Thursday on the test-firing of what they termed a “new-type tactical guided weapon”, according to the Japan Times.
The weapon was not a mid-range or long-range ballistic missile. It can therefore be framed as within the letter, though not the spirit, of the agreements which preceded the initial US-NK summit. It is being reported as having the capability of delivering a “powerful warhead”, although what magnitude of warhead remains unknown.
Kim was reported to have said “the development of the weapon system serves as an event of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power of the People’s Army.”
Associated Press
It is not only in the development of weaponry that Kim is demonstrating himself to be a less-than-honest petitioner for peace. The Chosun Ilbo, a prominent South Korean newspaper, notes that Kim is pressuring South Korean leader Moon Jae-In to side with the North over the United States.
They describe the North Korean propaganda website as saying “What is pathetic is the attitude of (the South Korean) government who dreams of North-South cooperation… while cooperating with the U.S.” and saying that South Korea “has nothing to gain by cooperating with the U.S.”
The same official NK site addressed recent joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S., even though the exercises remain on a much smaller scale than they were prior to the Trump-Kim summits. The words were very much in line with historical threats by North Korean regimes.
It also said that the drills are stirring up “grave concern and anger,” and amount to “reckless and rash moves aimed at destroying peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and heightening the mood for a fight and risks of war.”
Korea Times
The effort to simultaneously court and belittle the South comes after a perfunctory summit between Moon and Trump in which Trump appeared to dismiss Moon’s suggestions, then ended the meeting after less than two hours.
Meanwhile, the efforts by Putin to extend his influence into North Korea have been accepted by Kim, who is looking for ways to mitigate or negate the effects of the American sanctions. The Korea Herald confirms that the summit Putin offered has been accepted by Kim, although the date and time have not yet been publicly released.
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