JAKARTA, Jurnas.com – The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not seem ready to carry out a nuclear test during the United States (US)-South Korea military exercises, but the US remained vigilant.
US officials have been warning for nearly a year that North Korea could go ahead with a nuclear test for the first time since 2017, a move the United States, South Korea and Japan will see as a serious provocation.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan and other officials warned of the possibility in May 2022 ahead of President Joe Biden’s trip to Asia.
“I’ve been waiting for that too,” Lieutenant General Scott Berrier told reporters at DIA headquarters.
“There are a lot of different factors that play into (Kim’s) decision calculus on that. And there are a lot of things that we observe in terms of indications and warnings. The two don’t line up yet,” he continued.
Berrier said that Kim could choose to time the nuclear test to coincide with the ongoing Freedom Shield exercises by the US and South Korean militaries. The 11 days of training will end on Thursday.
“I don’t think he’s going to do that,” Berrier said. “But he will uncork it at a time and place of his choosing, which is something we will be watching very, very carefully.”
North Korea has long been barred from carrying out nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches by the United Nations Security Council, which has tightened sanctions against Pyongyang over the years to stop funding for the programmes.
In recent years, the 15-member body has been divided over how to handle North Korea. Although Russia and China supported tougher sanctions after North Korea’s last nuclear test, in May 2022 they vetoed a US-led push to impose more UN sanctions over North Korea’s new ballistic missile launch.
North Korea carried out a number of unprecedented launches last year, among them the test of an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to reach the US mainland.
The testing continues. North Korea fired several cruise missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, three days after it fired a short-range ballistic missile into the sea.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said Wednesday’s launch could involve a strategic cruise missile.
“Strategic” is usually used to describe weapons that have nuclear capability. North Korea’s last known strategic cruise missile firing was on March 12, when it is said to have fired two from a submarine.
Asked about North Korea’s flurry of testing, Berrier said he believed Kim was still not satisfied with deterrence, despite progress in his military program in recent years.
“He continues to pursue greater accuracy and lethality with the power of his missiles,” said Berrier.
He noted that North Korea’s conventional ground forces have atrophied over time as Kim Jong Un has developed his nuclear weapons and missile programs. “But I think North Korea is much more dangerous than it was before,” Berrier said.
Source: Jurnas