North Korean missile launches apparent practice for striking major South Korean ports

Posted on : 2016-07-21 16:00 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
State newspaper says North Korea was preparing to hit locations with US nuclear equipment
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observes a missile launch
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observes a missile launch

North Korea announced on July 20 that the firing of three suspected Scud and Rodong ballistic missiles the day before had been an exercise based on field guidance by leader Kim Jong-un to prepare to strike “South Korean ports and airfields where the US empire’s nuclear war equipment would be brought in.”

It also unveiled a map showing the Busan/Ulsan area as an impact zone in an apparent attempt to stress the uselessness of a US Forces Korea Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to be deployed in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

“For the ballistic rocket launch exercise by the Korean People’s Army Strategic Rocket Forces Hwasong artillery unit, the firing range was restricted to simulate a preemptive strike on ports and airfields within South Korean operation regions where the US empire‘s nuclear war equipment would be brought in,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on July 20.

The report suggests that the firing of two Hwasong-6 (Scud-C) and one Hwasong-7 (Rodong) missiles was training for an attack on US reinforcements arriving at Pohang, Busan Port, and Gimpo Airport in the event of an emergency.

A map of the Korean Peninsula was also included among eight related photographs printed on the front page of the Rodong Sinmun newspaper’s July 20 edition, under the title “Strategic Rocket Forces firepower strike plan.” The map showed a missile trajectory from North Korea’s Hwangju region toward the East Sea, with curves extending outward from the East Sea descent point to include the area around Busan and Ulsan as part of the potential impact zone.

The reference to “restricting the firing range” suggests the missile’s maximum potential flight distance was reduced through high-angle fire. Indeed, while the Hwasong-6 and Hwasong-7 have respective maximum ranges of 700 and 1,300 km, the missiles launched on July 19 reached altitudes of over 150 km and flew for an estimated 500-600 km.

The THAAD system has an interception altitude of 40 to 150 km.

The KCNA also reported that the “movement characteristics of the nuclear warhead explosion control equipment on the ballistic rocket were once again inspected at the selected altitude for the target region.” In a “momentous warning” on July 11, the artillery division of the People‘s Army General Staff Department announced that “physical response measures” would be “implemented once the location of the THAAD system are decided.”

Meanwhile, a statement issued the same day in the name of a spokesperson for the People’s Army mission in Panmunjeom said the “primary target” would be “the invading forces of the US empire occupying South Korea” with wartime operational control over South Korean forces.

“The reason the US is so dead set on maintaining wartime operational control is because of the heinous desires it cannot let go of,” the statement said.

By Kim Jin-cheol, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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