North Korea reveals 'mid-range strategic missile' training on the day of ballistic missile launch... Korea-Japan tracking failure claim

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kwon Soo-hyeon = North Korea disclosed on the 3rd that it had conducted a training exercise to launch a 'mid-range strategic missile' about 12 hours after the ballistic missile launch, and claimed that the Korean and Japanese military authorities failed to track it due to technological superiority.

Kim Yo-jong, head of the Workers' Party's General Affairs Department, announced through the Korean Central News Agency this afternoon, "A strategic weapon launch exercise was conducted early this morning in the East Sea of ​​our country."

Director Kim said, “Medium-range strategic missiles were used in the training,” and “the head of state directly observed the training of the firepower division carrying out a special mission.”

Head of state refers to Chairman Kim Jong-un.

Director Kim claimed that the Korean and Japanese authorities failed to properly track the trajectory, citing the fact that our Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Japanese Ministry of Defense analyzed that the North Korean ballistic missile's flight distance on this day was more than 700 km and about 680 km, respectively.

He said, “We have already witnessed similar cases four times, and in conclusion, the superiority of the special flight method of the missiles we have has been realistically verified.”

Director Kim said, "These numbers allow us to gauge the limitations of the enemy's detection capabilities and the special characteristics of our missiles," and pointed out, "Whenever the wave-type flight trajectory method was applied, the enemy lost the target after the first jumping point."

He continued, “If you draw an extension of the trajectory during the descent phase, you will get a number that is relatively similar to the number of range announced by the enemy,” and “The enemy always makes a lame excuse that the detection ability is limited due to the curvature of the Earth, but in fact, this is proof of the perfection of our missile capabilities.”

Director Kim also said, “We need to know the speed of the missile,” and “It will be necessary to recall our announcements that we have the ability to change flight trajectory at low altitudes and that we have introduced artificial intelligence.”

“In other words, this means that there is virtually no way to avoid this blow,” he threatened.

Director Kim said, “Representatives of the Missile Defense Agency reported to the head of state that with the recently introduced technology, at least four flight trajectory methods can be set according to purpose and target,” adding, “The head of state expressed confidence that no country in the world will be able to possess such technological capabilities for at least several years.”

However, he did not mention the specific flight distance of the missile launched that day.

Earlier on this day, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced, "Around 6:30 a.m. on the 3rd, we detected a ballistic missile launched from the area of Wonsan, North Korea, into the East Sea. The captured North Korean missile flew more than 700 km, and South Korea and the United States are conducting a detailed analysis of its exact specifications."

Considering North Korea's claim that it has the ability to change flight trajectory at low altitudes, there is a possibility that the missile that day was a member of the 'Hwasong-16na' series of hypersonic medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) characterized by anomalous maneuvers.

This launch came three days after our military authorities demanded an apology and responsible action from North Korea in connection with an incident in which three South Korean soldiers were seriously injured in a recent explosion of a land mine buried in the area south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in the 25th Division's 25th Division's Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the Western Front.

A day after dismissing the proposal for dialogue from President Lee Jae-myung and other Korean government officials, Kim Yo-jong came to the fore again and announced the launch of a missile.

North Korea usually advertises the purpose and achievements of a ballistic missile launch through state media reports the day after it is launched, but this time, unusually, it announced it on the same day as the launch.

It is also unusual for Kim Yo-jong, who is mainly in charge of talks with South Korea and the United States, to be the one to announce the ballistic missile training.

Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said, "Kim Yo-jong's announcement of a missile launch immediately after making two consecutive statements regarding land mine explosions is an extension of the statement war, and blatantly reveals that it is a message to the South at a time of tension between the two Koreas."

He analyzed, “Through this, it appears that they aimed to change the game with their own agenda of missile capabilities and detection gaps, rather than responding to the agenda set by South Korea, which is an apology for the mine explosion and a demand to stop fortifications.”

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, also speculated, “By announcing the missile launch, Kim Yo-jong seems to be trying to circumvent the landmine explosion incident by preempting public opinion amid expectations of the recent resumption of North Korea-US dialogue and by raising tensions while boasting about her military superiority.”