The South Korean military said on Monday that North Korea is close to being able to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a day after a Pyongyang spokesman said its ICBM could be test fired “at any time and any place.”South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said the military was “in preparation” for possible missile tests this year.“In the case of KN-08 (Hwasong-13) and KN-14, it’s currently being evaluated that [those] can be launched from a mobile launcher,” Moon Sang-gyun, an MND spokesperson, told reporters during a regular news briefing. “We are closely tracking and surveilling the situation.”South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) also argued that North Korea had made significant technical advances towards launching an ICBM.“Our military judges that the North has achieved a significant level of ability to launch missiles such as controlling a quantity of fuel and adjusting launch angle,” Roh Jae-cheon, head of public affairs for the JCS, said.“We consider the North’s continued test-firings as an attempt to step toward additional improvement. More verification is still required.”
North Korea test-fired Musudan missiles eight times between April 15 and October 20, but succeeded only once, in a launch on June 22.The Musudan missile, also known as the BM-25 or Hwasong-10, has an estimated range of between 2,500-4,000 kilometers and could, theoretically, reach the U.S. territory of Guam.Kim Dong-yup, Assistant Professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES) at Kyungnam University, argued that there was “a high possibility” that the North would test fire an ICBM this year.“The additional improvement of the ICBM means the North will launch a real KN-08 and KN-14 into the air, which have been displayed at the military parade,” Kim told NK News. “[The North] will test fire the main body loaded with a high-power engine of inter-continental ballistic rocket disclosed last April.”Kim Jong Un said that the North had “entered the final stages of preparation for the test launch of ICBM” in his New Year’s speech.South Korea’s Ministry of Unification (MoU) on Monday argued North Korea was attempting to “put pressure on the U.S.”“North Korea maintains its stance of continuing launches and making provocations, with the intention of inducing changes in the U.S. attitude [toward Pyongyang],” Jeong Joon-hee, an MoU spokesperson, told reporters at a press briefing.Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), reported on Sunday its satellite could be “continuously” launched “at a place and time determined by the Central Committee of the Party.”Ja Song Nam, the DPRK’s Permanent Representative to the UN, on Thursday defended the test-firing as a “full exercise of the legitimate rights stipulated in the UN Charter” and “self-defensive measures for deterrent power.”In a letter to the new UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Ja also urged the UN Security Council (UNSC) to impose sanctions against the United States and other countries for their nuclear tests, “if any nuclear test or launch were considered a ‘threat to international peace and security.’”“Although the DPRK’s legal arguments are ultimately weak, its claims might resonate with some countries who think international institutions are rigged in favor of the powerful and practice hypocrisy,” Tristan Webb, a senior analyst for NK News affiliate NK Pro said. “For example, the International Criminal Court has recently suffered the loss of several states who complained that the court picked on leaders from poorer countries while turning a blind eye to alleged war crimes of the rich.”“I suspect the DPRK may find some sympathy for its arguments from other countries, even if the Secretary-General is unmoved.”
source:NK news
