South Korea and US conduct simulated strike on NK targets

Some 110 aircraft participated in joint show of force after Pyongyang’s intercontinental ballistic missile test, as Kim Jong-un promises continued nuclear expansion.

A Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile being fired on Thursday from an undisclosed location in North Korea. Picture: KCNA via AFP

South Korea and US fighter jets carried out simulated bombing of North Korean targets in a show of force on Thursday, following Pyongyang’s test of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of a nuclear attack on the American mainland.

Some 110 aircraft took part in the joint exercises, in which they bombed mock-ups of North Korean ballistic missile launchers.

“Through this large-scale joint air training exercise, we have demonstrated the South Korea-US combined defence capability and posture to overwhelm the enemy in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats,” South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said in a statement.

The exercises came a few hours after North Korea test-fired its latest intercontinental ballistic missile, its most powerful so far. Kim Jong Un, the country’s supreme leader, said the test would help to “round off” its nuclear deterrent, at a time of increasing uncertainty caused by tension between North and South, the dispatch of Kim’s troops to Russia, and next week’s US election.

Ukraine has identified three North Korean generals it says have been sent to Russia to oversee the deployment of thousands of troops from the communist state. In a statement to the UN, Kyiv named one of the North Koreans as Colonel General Kim Yong Bok, who commands special forces troops. He is thought to be in Russia as a direct representative of Kim.

The general commands North Korea’s Storm Corps, which South Korean intelligence said was already in Russia. He has been seen with Kim on a number of occasions this year, including at military exercises.

Ukraine named Colonel General Ri Chang Ho, deputy chief of the general staff, and Major General Sin Kum Cheol, head of the main operational directorate, as the other two North Korean generals in Russia. General Sin is expected to take command of North Korean troops in the long run.

The Pentagon estimates that North Korea has deployed 10,000 troops to assist the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine; others put the number even higher.

Like previous such missile tests, the weapon was fired at a steep upward angle, which took it far beyond Earth’s atmosphere, and caused it to come down in the sea between Japan and Russia, 1000km from where it was launched.

It reached a maximum altitude of 7000km, 17 times further from the Earth than the International Space Station, the highest so far for a North Korean rocket. It flew for 86 minutes, compared to 74 minutes for the last test 10 months ago, indicating the solid fuel technology used by North Korea has significantly improved.

If flown on a standard trajectory rather than its test trajectory, the missile would be capable of reaching cities on the US mainland – although whether it could do so accurately, and carrying a nuclear warhead, is not clear.

“The security situation of our state and ever-aggravating prospective threats and challenges require us to continue to bolster up our modern strategic attack forces and more perfectly round off our nuclear forces’ response posture,” said Kim, who was present for the launch, according to North Korean state media. “I affirm that the DPRK will never change its line of bolstering up its nuclear forces.”

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called a meeting of his national security council, and called for “vigilance and readiness so that North Korea cannot plan any surprise provocations”.

In Washington, White House national security council spokesman Sean Savett called the launch “a flagrant violation of multiple UN security council resolutions”.

Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi called it “a violence that escalates tensions with the international community as a whole”, adding: “North Korea has consistently demonstrated its intention to strengthen nuclear and missile capabilities, and there is a possibility they will engage in further provocations … including launching missiles and conducting nuclear tests.”

South Korea warned on Wednesday Pyongyang might make a gesture to mark the US election, as it has in the past. Kim may believe raising tensions could help Donald Trump, who had three meetings with him in an unsuccessful effort to bring about disarmament, and who may take a more lenient approach than Kamala Harris.

The Times