The United States flew nuclear-capable bombers and advanced stealth jets in a show of force against North Korea on Tuesday, as the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ridiculed doubts about her country’s military and threatened a full-range intercontinental ballistic missile test. .
The deployment of US B-52 bombers and F-22 stealth fighter jets for joint exercises with South Korean warplanes was part of an agreement to protect South Korea by all available means, including the nuclear, South Korea’s defense ministry said.
The drills, which also included South Korean F-35 and F-15 fighter jets, took place in waters southwest of Jeju Island, the ministry said. US F-22 jets were deployed to South Korea for the first time in four years and will remain for this week to train with South Korean forces, he said.
A photo provided by the North Korean government shows Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, delivering a speech during the national meeting against the coronavirus in Pyongyang in 2022. (AP)
The drills came after North Korea said it had launched a test satellite for the development of its first military spy satellite and tested a solid-fuel engine for use in a more mobile intercontinental ballistic missile in the last few days.
North Korea has already fired a record number of missiles this year as a warning over past US and South Korean military exercises it sees as a rehearsal for invasion. There are concerns it could react to the allies’ latest air drill with a new round of missile tests.
Earlier on Tuesday, Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, used a slew of derisive terms including “malicious scum,” “garbage” and “barking dogs” when she dismissed outside assessments that cast doubt on the development of North Korea’s long-range spy satellites. – range missiles.
In this photo provided by South Korea’s Ministry of Defense, a U.S. B-52 bomber, C-17 and F-35 fighter jets of the South Korean Air Force fly over the Korean Peninsula on Dec. 20 2022. (AP)
North Korea said its rocket launches on Sunday were tests of systems for its first military reconnaissance satellite and released two low-resolution photos of South Korean cities seen from space. Some civilian experts in South Korea and elsewhere said the photos were too crude for surveillance purposes and that the launches were likely a cover for North Korea’s missile technology. South Korea’s military maintained that North Korea fired two medium-range ballistic missiles.
Kim Yo Jong said the test satellite carried a commercial camera because there was no reason to use an expensive, high-resolution camera for a one-shot test. He said North Korea used two old missiles as space launch vehicles.
“They did not think that their assessments are too inappropriate and reckless, as they commented on our satellite development capability and preparations related to only two photos that we published in our newspaper,” Kim Yo Jong, a senior official of the Workers’ Party in government. he said in a statement released to state media.
A U.S. B-52 bomber, C-17 and F-35 fighter jets of the South Korean Air Force fly over the Korean Peninsula during a joint air drill on Dec. 20, 2022. (AP)
A spy satellite was among several high-tech weapons systems that Kim Jong Un has pledged to acquire to better counter what he called US hostility. Other weapons Kim wants to build are multi-warhead missiles, long-range solid-fuel missiles, underwater-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-powered submarines, and hypersonic missiles. Some experts say North Korea would end these modern weapons systems and an expanded nuclear arsenal to pressure the US into sanctions relief and other concessions.
Kim’s sister rejected the South Korean government’s assessment that North Korea still has key technological hurdles to overcome for operational ICBMs that can reach the North American continent, such as the ability to shield their warheads from the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry.
Kim Yo Jong questioned how North Korea could have received data from warheads until they landed on targeted areas in the ocean in previous launches if the country really did not have re-entry technology.
“I think they better stop talking nonsense, behave carefully and think twice,” he said.
US F-22 fighter jets taxi after landing during joint air drills with South Korea in Gunsan. (AP)
Whether North Korea has a reliable arsenal of nuclear missiles is a source of debate. But North Korea has repeatedly argued its missile tests are capable of reaching the US, and its allies have confirmed the warheads can survive atmospheric re-entry and other challenges.
All of North Korea’s ICBM tests have been conducted at a steep angle to avoid neighboring countries. Some experts have said that without the standard trajectory launch of ICBMs, the reliability of North Korea’s weapons cannot be guaranteed.
Touching on those doubts, Kim Yo Jong suggested that North Korea could fire an ICBM on a normal trajectory, a launch that could be seen as a far greater provocation to the US, as the weapon would fly into the Pacific Ocean.
A U.S. F-22 fighter jet lands during joint air drills with South Korea in Gunsan, Dec. 20, 2022. (AP)
“I can clear your doubt about it. They will recognize it immediately in case we launch an ICBM in the true angle firing mode right away,” Kim Yo Jong said.
Kim, whose official title is deputy department director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party, is considered the most influential official in the North after her brother, according to South Korea’s spy service.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim Soosuk called its threats of a standard-trajectory ICBM launch “very unfortunate.” He told reporters that North Korea’s nuclear ambitions would only deepen its international isolation and worsen the economic hardships of its residents.
A photo provided by South Korea’s Defense Ministry shows a U.S. F-22 fighter jet preparing to land during joint air drills in Gunsan, South Korea, on Dec. 20, 2022. (AP)
North Korea is one of the most sanctioned countries in the world because of its nuclear and missile programs. But Kim Yo Jong said on Tuesday that North Korea is determined to strengthen its defenses at all costs.
“We make it clear that we will not remain a passive bystander to any attempt to violate the legitimate right of a sovereign state, but will exercise our limited rights and, if necessary, reclaim them at the risk of our lives,” he said.