Kim Jong-un stresses offensive nuclear capability after rocket test

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has foreshadowed a “next-stage blueprint” related to nuclear war deterrence at the Ninth Party Congress, expected to take place next month. Given that he has since last year outlined plans to expand the country’s nuclear arsenal and deploy nuclear weapons operationally, analysts say the party congress is likely to present additional tasks to that end.

North Korea’s state-run Rodong Sinmun reported on January 28 that Kim observed a test firing the previous day conducted by the Missile General Bureau to verify the effectiveness of an upgraded large-caliber multiple rocket launcher weapons system.

At the site, Kim expressed satisfaction, saying that “the tasks presented have been carried out excellently by our scientists and technicians.” Kim added that “the purpose of the activities we are carrying out lies nowhere else but clearly in further advancing our nuclear war deterrent,” and said the Ninth Party Congress “will proclaim the next stage of the blueprint to further strengthen the country’s nuclear war deterrence.”

Kim’s reference to a “next stage” of nuclear deterrence is being interpreted as a new five-year plan to be unveiled at the party congress. In particular, analysts note that Kim’s use of the term “offensive capability” marks a departure from the past. While previous policy emphasized nuclear weapons with a defensive character, there is growing speculation that the congress may present tasks related to offensive nuclear capabilities.

Kim Bomi, a researcher at the National Institute for National Security Strategy, said, “In the past, expressions emphasizing offensive capability were not placed front and center,” adding, “It seems the logic is shifting toward strengthening deterrence through enhanced offensive power.”

More specifically, plans are expected to include increasing the number of nuclear weapons and deploying them for operational use. Kim has already revealed such ideas, including expanding the nuclear arsenal and fielding weapons, in speeches marking North Korea’s founding anniversary on Sept. 9 last year and during visits to the Academy of Defense Science’s Armored and Defense Weapons Research Institute.

Tuesday’s test of four MRLS rockets employing new technology hit a target in waters 358.5 kilometers (223 miles) away from the point of launch, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The previous day, South Korea’s military detected multiple short-range ballistic missiles launched from north of Pyongyang toward the East Sea, as the regime is widely expected to convene its first ruling party congress in five years early next month, according to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are reportedly analyzing the possibility that North Korea fired the KN-25, a 600-millimeter (23.6-inch) super-large multiple rocket launcher, which it also launched on May 8 last year. The KN-25 is a weapon system capable of striking key South Korean facilities.

He also described the weapon’s “self-steered precisely guided flight system” as a major feature, touting “the steady improvement and uninterrupted evolution of our defense technology.”

“To build up the most reliable offensive capability and enforce the deterrence strategy based on it is the invariable line of our party’s national defense policy,” the KCNA also quoted him as saying.

“All the indexes have been improved to maximize their strike capability, and the mobility, intelligence and hitting accuracy of the rockets, in particular, have remarkably been upgraded,” Kim also said.

Emphasizing that the mobility of the newly-modernized launcher vehicle is “perfect,” Kim stressed that the “self-steered precisely guided flight system, which can neglect any outside intervention,” is a major feature that “demonstrates the superiority of this weapon system.”

Released photos showed Kim’s daughter Ju-ae accompanying him to the test, along with Kim Jong-sik, first vice department director of the party’s Central Committee, and Jang Chang-ha, chief of the Missile Administration.

The missile launch appears to be a show of muscle flexing as the North is expected to unveil five-year development plans for defense, the economy and other fields at the upcoming ninth congress, the first since the eighth in 2021.

The test also came as U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby visited South Korea to discuss security issues, including Seoul’s push to build nuclear-powered submarines. Following the three-day trip to Seoul, he left for Japan the previous day.

Foreign Ministry officials from South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed that North Korea’s ballistic missile launches violate UN Security Council resolutions and threaten international peace and security, and vowed to continue close cooperation among the three allies during a telephone consultation on January 27, according to Japan’s Foreign Ministry on January 28.

BY MOOYOUNG LEE, LIM JEONG-WON [lee.mooyoung@koreadaily.com]