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President Yoon Suk-yeol is briefed on the outcomes of a meeting of a National Security Council standing committee at the underground bunker of the presidential office on June 5. (Yonhap News)

After firing a mix of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) last month, North Korea fired multiple SRBMs simultaneously from four different launch sites on Sunday.

Analysts say if firing a mix of ICBMs and SRBMs was North Korea’s way of boasting its tactical abilities capable of both attacking the US mainland and engaging with battle situations on the Korean Peninsula, simultaneously launching multiple SRBMs from different locations was meant to emphasize the country’s ability to counter a preemptive strike.

According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff on Sunday, North Korea fired a total of eight SRBMs from four different locations — the Sunan area near Pyongyang; Kaechon in South Pyongan Province; Dongchang Village in Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province; and Hamhung in South Hamgyong Province — in the span of roughly 35 minutes starting around 9:08 am on the same day.

While Pyongyang and Kaechon are both inland, Dongchang Village and Hamhung adjoin the West (Yellow) Sea and the East Sea, respectively. In other words, North Korea demonstrated through Sunday’s missile launches that it is capable of simultaneously firing ballistic missiles whenever and wherever — be it on the west coast, inland, or on the east coast.

The missiles launched by North Korea on Sunday each had a distinct flight distance (ranging from 110 kilometers to 670 kilometers), top altitude (25 kilometers to 90 kilometers), and flight speed (Mach 3 to Mach 6), which suggests that they included different types of ballistic missiles.

North Korea previously launched the so-called “North Korean ATACMS” and a supersized multiple rocket launcher from Hamhung and Kaechon, respectively, which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally observed in August and September of 2019.

Kim Jung-sup, vice president of research and education at the Sejong Institute, explained, “While advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities, North Korea is simultaneously pursuing the development of tactical abilities that could be used both to attack the US mainland and during battles on the Korean Peninsula towards South Korea and Japan.”

“If ICBMs serve as a deterrence against the US, SRBMs are a deterrence against South Korea and Japan,” he said.

Kim Jung-sup continued, “[North Korea] has to be able to simultaneously fire ballistic missiles from multiple locations, not just one, in order to secure its survivability and be able to retaliate.” He added, “[It] has to be able to demonstrate its ability to counterattack in order to effectively deter a preemptive strike from [its] opponent.”

The timing of North Korea’s recent missile launches is also noteworthy. Last month, when South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Joe Biden made clear their hard-line stance against the North during their summit, such as by specifying “nuclear” capabilities as part of the US’ extended deterrence commitment to South Korea, North Korea fired an ICBM and SRBMs, capable of targeting the US and South Korea and Japan, respectively, on May 25, after Biden departed from Tokyo following his Northeast Asia trip.

This time, Pyongyang fired multiple SRBMs from multiple locations within a short time frame immediately after South Korea and the US concluded their first joint naval exercise in four years and seven months, which involved a US aircraft carrier.

In a sense, North Korea confirmed its intent to keep up the rigid confrontation between Seoul and Pyongyang unfolding on the Korean Peninsula by successively making shows of its various deterrence following the Yoon administration’s statement that North Korea’s “consecutive launch of various types of ballistic missiles is a test of and a challenge against [our] security posture early in [our] term.”

This is why, as the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea — to take place during the “first half of June,” as Kim Jong-un himself announced — approaches, concerns that Pyongyang will go as far as conducting its seventh nuclear test are multiplying.

By conducting further nuclear tests, North Korea aims to finish developing a small nuclear warhead that can be loaded on SRBMs capable of targeting South Korea and Japan.

By Jung In-hwan, staff reporter

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