Welcome to The Adversarial. Every other week, we’ll provide you with expert analysis on America’s greatest challengers: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and jihadists. Read more below.North KoreaOn Jan. 24, North Korea conducted its first test launches of a new strategic cruise missile, the Pulhwasal-3-31. Four days later, Kim Jong Un oversaw the firing of additional Pulhwasal-3-31s, apparently from a submerged submarine. The reported flight time suggests a test range of almost 1500 kilometers. At the launch, Kim stressed the urgency of “nuclear weaponization” of the navy as a “core requirement” for the state’s nuclear force and discussed developing nuclear-powered submarines and other “new-type” warships as immediate tasks ahead.On Jan. 30, the Korean People’s Army staged drills that launched several Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missiles, reportedly for the purpose of “checking the KPA’s rapid counterattack posture and improving its strategic striking capability.” Three days later, North Korea’s Missile Administration conducted tests of a “cruise missile super-large warhead” and a “new type of anti-aircraft missile,” which they described as normal developmental testing rather than being driven by the “regional situation.”This barrage of missile tests and drills underscores the North’s continued pursuit of diverse missile capabilities and willingness to match U.S.-South Korean military exercises with exercises of its own. While in line with directives set by Kim last year to accelerate the expansion of the country’s weapons of mass destruction, it raises questions about what Kim is trying to achieve. In the past, development spurts in the country’s nuclear capabilities may have been used to increase leverage in future negotiations with the United States, but major policy shifts in recent years would suggest this is not now the case. North Korea’s passing of the nuclear law and a constitutional amendment enshrine its nuclear status as part of its national identity, and the most recent
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Welcome to The Adversarial. Every other week, we’ll provide you with expert analysis on America’s greatest challengers: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and jihadists. Read more below.North KoreaOn Jan. 24, North Korea conducted its first test launches of a new strategic cruise missile, the Pulhwasal-3-31. Four days later, Kim Jong Un oversaw the firing of additional Pulhwasal-3-31s, apparently from a submerged submarine. The reported flight time suggests a test range of almost 1500 kilometers. At the launch, Kim stressed the urgency of “nuclear weaponization” of the navy as a “core requirement” for the state’s nuclear force and discussed developing nuclear-powered submarines
