North Korea encouraged Russia’s war in Ukraine when it most needed massive ammunition shipments, although North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is not doing so with the consent of his center.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!What Moscow is offering Pyongyang in trade is a mystery, although Korea professionals say one possibility is the deep connection.
Since September 2022, when the United States first accused North Korea of offering ammunition to Russia to deal with the shortage, there has been general speculation over how Kim would be repaid for this partnership.
When the fallout between Putin and Kim came to a head, leading to Russia’s rapid replenishment of its ammo stockpile, questions arose about what North Korea wanted from it. These have come to the fore again with Putin and Kim’s historic meeting in Pyongyang last year, in which the leaders reaffirmed their strategic alignment and signed a key defense agreement.
“I think this is the biggest threat emanating from the Korean Peninsula since the Korean War,” said Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea at the Center for Strategic and Global Research.
He said the “widespread ripple effect” would be felt not only by Ukrainians on the battlefield, but also throughout East Asia and the United States as it became possible for North Korea to obtain technology to strengthen its nuclear program. will be. , missiles, submarines, and more.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – 2024/04/22: South Korea’s 24-hour Yonhapnews TV displays a reported symbol of North Korea’s missile origin in an information program on a TV at the Yongsan Railroad Station in Seoul. Kim Jae-hwan/SOPA Pictures/LightRocket via Getty Pictures
Putin and Kim’s deepening partnership comes as Russian forces are on the offensive in Ukraine, Russian glide-bomb attacks are causing significant devastation, and Ukraine is using long-range fire to hit targets on Russian territory along the way. facing obstacles.
Aid from North Korea – through guns and ammunition – is helping Russia escalate operations. Suspected 152 mm shells, 122 mm rockets and KN-23 ballistic missiles have boosted Russia’s war effort.
Western and South Korean estimates differ on how much ammo North Korea sent, but the total is believed to be in the millions.
Putin’s dependence puts Kim in a park where he can get what he really wants by cutting down on sunbathing. According to Cha, Kim’s red carpet treatment of Putin, as well as the mutual defense agreement they signed, shows that there is a lot of potential for things to work here.
nuclear powered submarines
North Korea’s newest “strategic nuclear attack submarine” at its commissioning ceremony in early September 2023. KCNA via Reuters
One of Kim’s biggest demands could be the construction of nuclear-powered submarines, which North Korea is trying to assemble. Its submarines, with an ongoing heavy downpour that appear closely spaced to house additional missiles, are conventionally powered, meaning they must resurface to refuel. This makes them easier to identify and observe.
North Korea these days maintains one of the largest international fleets, with estimates ranging from 64 to 86 normal subs. It consists mostly of coastal, specialized and mini-subs, but in January 2021, Kim announced plans to build nuclear-powered subs, noting that design analysis had already been done.
Nuclear-powered submarines would significantly improve North Korea’s capabilities. The ships would likely be quieter, faster, more survivable in combat, and more difficult to detect, allowing North Korea to sail farther, possibly closer to the United States or its allies, and without detection by missiles.
It is unclear what specific aspects North Korea would require in building the ships, but Kim may seek acoustic technologies from Putin to assist or deal with any glitches in the nuclear propulsion process. Kim may additionally request financial backup to assemble the submarines, as some indications suggest that North Korea is not even able to donate substantially to the improvement of its fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.
Kim would likely know about Russia’s experience with the ships, which would help him avoid trials and errors in the construction process. Russia is certainly one of a handful of countries that operate nuclear-powered submarines, and its fleet is quite capable.
nuclear guns
The public looks at a TV display screen showing information being broadcast along with reported images of a North Korean missile test at a train station in Seoul on January 14, 2024. Jang Yeon-jae
The shock on another level is that North Korea may get the desired era for its nuclear weapons program and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
On Monday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said discussions over what North Korea would get from Russia would likely include “nuclear or long-range missile-development plans, perhaps energy and things like that.”
Over the past decade, North Korea has locally produced weapons ranging from short- and medium-range guns to ICBMs and submarine-launched missiles. Recently, it has shown its structure as hypersonic missiles.
North Korea is conducting a campaign of missiles in the grasslands that could weaken enemy defenses. With this process backup, in addition to creating countermeasures to defeat enemy missile defenses, can be a priority.
Satellite TV for the PC era
Complex satellite technologies will go hand in hand with North Korean ambitions. In September 2023, Putin actually promised that Russia would help North Korea build satellites; Kim has repeatedly tried and failed to launch satellites into space, with the latest May 2024 test failing when the rocket exploded in the primary stage of flight.
With satellite networks, North Korea can unexpectedly locate targets to hit with its missiles. It could strengthen its operations for a preemptive conflict against the United States or its allies, giving them little time to respond before an attack occurs on airfields, ports, and command and control facilities on and around the Korean Peninsula. Will get minutes.
Fighter aircraft, production, and surplus
The Korean People’s Army conducts an artillery firing practice. KCNA via Reuters
There have also been suggestions that what North Korea wants from Russia includes fighter planes, which Cha said were not entirely in keeping with South Korea’s powerful wind power feats, as well as US airpower in the patch. .
North Korea’s gunpowder manufacturing operations may also see an increase due to Russian involvement. Most of the country’s stockpiles are long overdue, and U.S. and South Korean officials have raised doubts about the effectiveness of those weapons.
If Russia were to cooperate with North Korea in gunpowder manufacturing, or at least give it higher functions, North Korea could have higher, more practical stockpiles for a potential war on the peninsula next fall.
How this is implemented does not depend solely on what North Korea wants, however. There is also the question of what service Putin is willing to provide. Additional aid may depend on how the war in Ukraine goes or whether South Korea decides to immediately deliver lethal aid to Ukraine, versus its flow-on policy of sending it through the United States.
At CSIS’s The Inconceivable Circumstances panel conversation on Monday, Scott Snyder, president and chief executive officer of the Korea Financial Institute of America, said the dynamics between Moscow and Seoul could dictate what Putin decides to give the North. Korea.
South Korea then threatened to immediately provide lethal aid to Ukraine at the height of the year, prompting Putin to give North Korea the opportunity to get the military facilities it wants. Cha said that “in a way, they’ve got an advantage they didn’t have before.”
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