North Korean leader seems to reference Venezuela a day after ‘hypersonic’ missile drill

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un cited “complicated international events” as justification for a stronger nuclear deterrent, according to the country’s state-run media on January 5, remarks that analysts linked to the recent removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the United States.

Kim’s remarks come a day after North Korea fired a salvo of what it claims were hypersonic missiles into the East Sea.

“A sub-unit under a major firing strike group of the Korean People’s Army conducted a missile launching drill on Jan. 4,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on January 5, adding that the drill “was conducted as part of the operational evaluation of the sustainability, effectiveness and operation of the DPRK’s war deterrent while evaluating the readiness of the hypersonic weapon system, verifying and confirming its capability for fulfilling mission and developing the missile soldiers’ firing capability.”

The DPRK is the acronym of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

According to the report, the unit launched the missiles from Ryokpo District in Pyongyang toward the northeast, with the missiles flying about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) before striking a target in the East Sea.

Kim observed the launch alongside Kim Jong-sik, first vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, and Jang Chang-ha, president of the Academy of National Defense Science and general director of North Korea’s Missile Administration.

Rodong Sinmun did not identify the missile model. However, South Korean military authorities believe the model was a Hwasong-11Ma, described as a KN-23 launcher paired with a warhead shaped like a hypersonic glide vehicle capable of evasive maneuvers, making it difficult to intercept.

A pull-up maneuver is a missile’s sharp ascent from level flight or descent to avoid being tracked or intercepted.

The Korea Defense and Security Forum (Kodef) said the test appeared to focus on “low-altitude gliding flight and range verification.”

“North Korea could resume tests to improve the Hwasong-11Ma’s terminal-phase gliding capability and increase speed,” Kodef said.

North Korea also tested the Hwasong-11Ma in October last year when the APEC summit took place in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang.

Kim framed the drill as part of a broader deterrence strategy.

The North Korean leader said it was “a very important strategic task to maintain and expand a powerful and reliable nuclear deterrent,” noting it was necessary because of “recent geopolitical crisis and complicated international events.”

Analysts read Kim’s remarks as a renewed argument that North Korea needs stronger nuclear deterrence to guarantee its security in an international environment driven by power politics.

In particular, Kim’s reference to “geopolitical crisis” and “international events,” along with his emphasis on demonstrating lethality to adversaries, suggest he had Venezuela in mind, analysts said.

North Korea’s missile launch came about seven hours after Trump announced Maduro’s removal.

A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson criticized the U.S. action, calling it another case demonstrating Washington’s “rogue and brutal nature.”

Some analysts said Pyongyang responded in a relatively low-key way, with a reply from a Foreign Ministry spokesperson to a KCNA reporter rather than a formal statement.

The launch also coincided with President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to China. North Korea fired the hypersonic-capable missiles on the eve of a South Korea-China summit on January 5, a move some analysts viewed as a warning not to put denuclearization on the agenda.

The Rodong Sinmun also released what appeared to be a screen showing the missile’s trajectory and key data plotted on a map. Analysts said the image was intended to showcase operational data suggesting the missile adjusts its speed and performs glide maneuvers in the atmosphere.

Experts have warned that hypersonic missiles pose a challenge to existing missile defense platforms such as the Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems.

“The monitor display shows a top speed of 2,732 meters [1.7 miles] per second, or Mach 8,” said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification. “It also shows the missile traveling at Mach 3.48 at an altitude of 43.7 kilometers at the 775.4-kilometer point. Modern missile defense systems would find it very difficult to intercept a target at that speed.”

BY CHUNG YEONG-GYO  [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]