New tests are expected on 10 October, the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean Workers' Party, South Korean generals say. Satellite analyzes confirm military activity at the Sinpo naval site. Last June, Kim Jong-un suspended military plans against the South.
Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Kim Jong-un regime is continuing to develop its missile capabilities, reports Suh Wook, Minister of Defense in pectore. He presented the report to a hearing in Parliament to confirm his appointment.
Also yesterday, the new Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Won In-choul said that on October 10, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean Workers' Party, Pyongyang could test a ballistic missile - with nuclear capability - launched from a submarine.
According to the South Korean general, North Korea is preparing the launch at the Sinpo naval site, where reconstruction is underway after damage caused by the recent passage of a series of typhoons. Missile activity in the area is also confirmed by satellite images captured by the specialist US based website 38 North.
Last June, Kim suspended military plans against South Korea. The North Korean leader had previously threatened to send troops into the demilitarized zone between the two countries; his was a response to the launch of defamatory leaflets into North Korea by North Korean dissidents who had fled to the South. The two Koreas are technically at war; Pyongyang and Seoul never signed a peace treaty at the end of the conflict that saw them opposed from 1950 to 1953.
After Kim's two meetings (in 2018 and 2019) with US President Donald Trump, North Korea had halted nuclear tests and limited missile tests.