Communist dictator Kim Jong-un of North Korea reportedly led the testing of long-range cruise missiles, the country’s state media outlets revealed on Monday, intended to preserve Pyongyang’s ability to conduct nuclear bombings.
Kim’s reported appearance at the “strategic cruise missile” launches followed his emergence at the site of the construction of what North Korea claims will be a nuclear-powered submarine, an apparent attempt to establish the ability to launch nuclear weapons from underwater. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on the submarine event on Christmas Day in apparent response to the arrival of a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine to the port city of Busan, South Korea.
The Kim regime, one of the most oppressive communist governments in the world, consistently threatens war against South Korea, the United States, and Japan, often suggesting the use of nuclear weapons against them. Kim Jong-un’s reign has coincided with a slight de-intensification of this language and a decreased prevalence in propaganda videos suggesting the destruction of mainland American cities using nuclear weapons, but the threat remains a critical part of the North Korean political message. Pyongyang has remained belligerent despite a dramatic change in policy in Seoul, where conservative former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who publicly mused about South Korea developing nuclear weapons, was impeached and replaced by leftist current President Lee Jae-myung. Lee’s appeals to dialogue with Pyongyang have not resulted in any meaningful contact with the Kim regime at press time.
On Monday, KCNA reported that Kim Jong-un was personally responsible for testing apparently nuclear-capable cruise missiles.
“The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un expressed great satisfaction,” KCNA claimed, “saying that the result of the launching drill is a practical verification and clear demonstration of the absolute reliability and combat readiness of our strategic counterattack capability.”
The state propaganda vehicle added that testing the cruise missiles, according to Kim, was necessary to ensure “the reliability… of the components of the DPRK’s [North Korea’s] nuclear deterrent.” Kim claimed that Pyongyang was currently “facing various security threats” that made reminding the world of its nuclear weapons necessary.
The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that Seoul confirmed “the launch of multiple missiles from the Sunan area near Pyongyang at around 8 a.m. the previous day [Sunday],” which took place over the Yellow Sea.
The Lee administration in South Korea responded to the test with some frustration, according to Yonhap.
“North Korea should respond to South Korea’s efforts to resume dialogue that are being made in good faith to promote peace and coexistence on the peninsula and join efforts to maintain the stable situation,” the outlet quoted an administration official, spokesperson Chung Binna, as saying.
Kim’s previous public appearance before the cruise missile tests was an appearance at the construction site for what North Korea claims will be “an 8,700-tonnage nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine.” Kim reportedly “guided” the construction “on the spot,” despite no publicly known evidence that Kim has expertise in the construction of nuclear-powered submarines.
The KCNA reported with its usual zeal that the workers involved in the project went “all out in the glorious struggle for implementing the WPK’s [Workers’ Party of Korea] policy of modernizing the navy” by “pushing ahead with the building of a strategic nuclear attack submarine.”
With “inexhaustible patriotic enthusiasm,” the workers reportedly welcomed Kim, who asserted that North Korea’s nuclear abilities — “the super-powerful offensive capability” — was “the best shield for national security in developing the armed forces.”
“The strategic nuclear attack submarine to be considered as an important component of the nuclear war deterrent will constitute the greatest immortal feats of the working class, defense scientists and technicians, the driving force of the DPRK, for the times and history,” Kim reportedly claimed.
KCNA announced the development of the nuclear submarine on Christmas Day. While Pyongyang was once considered the “Jerusalem of the East” due to its large Christian population, Kim’s grandfather, communist conqueror Kim Il-sung, banned Christianity and all religion aside from the worship of himself and his family. Possessing a Bible is illegal in North Korea and the books are displayed in Pyongyang’s museums as American weapons of war used to destroy North Korea’s government. Christians in North Korea face torture, enslavement, and death if discovered.
In addition to the Christmas holiday, Kim’s appearance at the submarine site followed the confirmation by the governments of both the United States and South Korea of the arrival of an American nuclear-powered submarine in Busan. According to the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, the USS Greenville arrived in Busan on December 23, the first vessel of its kind to do so in the Lee administration.
The North Korean Ministry of National Defense vehemently objected to the submarine’s presence on the Korean peninsula in a message published on Wednesday.
“The repeated emergence of the U.S. strategic asset 46 days after the entry of the nuclear carrier George Washington strike group belonging to the U.S. Seventh Fleet into the ROK on November 7 constitutes a grave act of causing instability and escalating military tensions in the Korean peninsula and the region,” a Defense Ministry spokesperson objected.
“This is a warning that the U.S. is getting closer to the critical level in its attempt to gain strategic advantage in the region by making its military alliance with the ROK [South Korea] more surely evolve into a nuclear confrontation bloc sharing its nuclear weapons,” the statement continued. “The DPRK remains unchanged in its practical will to strongly propel the development of the defense capabilities for ensuring its prospective interests and defending security at present and in the future.”
“Nothing will change no matter how frequently the U.S. brings its nuclear submarine to highlight the visibility of its nuclear attack forces,” it concluded.
