Designed by the dictator himself: Kim Jong Un holds rocket launching ceremony

Designed by the dictator himself
Kim Jong Un holds rocket launching ceremony

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North Korea is currently suffering from severe flooding. Kim Jong Un is using this as an opportunity to ceremoniously hand over hundreds of rocket launchers to the army. The dictator explains his plan for the future to the military: more nuclear weapons.

North Korea is reinforcing its troops on the border with South Korea with 250 ballistic missile launchers. As the state news agency KCNA reported, a “ceremony to hand over 250 new type tactical ballistic missile launchers (…) to the military units on the border” was held on Sunday in the capital Pyongyang under the chairmanship of ruler Kim Jong Un.

The rocket launchers are a “modern tactical offensive weapon” and a “powerful, valuable sword” for defending North Korea’s sovereignty, Kim reportedly said at the ceremony. At the same time, he stated that he had personally designed the rocket launchers. The presentation of the new weapons at a time when North Korea is struggling with severe flooding is an “expression of our party’s firm will to advance the strengthening of defense capabilities.”

North Korea will strengthen its nuclear readiness in the near future to deter nuclear threats and protect itself against any challenges, Kim told the armed forces and military scientists, according to KCNA. He reiterated his position that the accumulation and improvement of the country’s nuclear weapons is the best way to counter what he described as threats and pressure from the United States. Peace will be guaranteed by the “absolute and unparalleled self-defense capability.”

Expansion of the nuclear program

In recent years, North Korea has continuously expanded its missile and nuclear weapons program despite international sanctions. The USA and its allies in the region are calling for complete nuclear disarmament.

According to South Korean expert Han Kwon Hee of the Korean Association for Defense Industry Studies, this is the first time that North Korea has disclosed the extent of a weapons transfer to its border troops. Each launcher is designed for four missiles, Han said.

Relations between North and South Korea are currently at a low point. Kim Jong Un has declared South Korea to be Pyongyang’s “main enemy” and announced that he will expand the development of weapons, including tactical nuclear weapons. North Korea is also threatening to fight for “0.001 millimeters” of disputed territory. In response, South Korea and the United States have increased their defense cooperation.

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