[사설]North Korea unveils slanted SLBM… The US is “the biggest threat”, and the South is insecure

North Korea again introduced a new strategic and tactical weapon at a parade ceremony commemorating the 8th Labor Party Congress on the night of the 14th. The new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM)’Arctic-5S’ has a longer and larger warhead than the’Arctic-4S’, which was introduced at the parade ceremony on the day of its establishment three months ago, and has the potential to mount multiple warheads. It is observed that the improved version of the short-range missile (KN-23), which maneuvered during ballistic flight, could be used to mount a tactical nuclear weapon against South Korea. North Korea repeatedly threatened a’preemptive nuclear strike’, saying, “We will preemptively and thoroughly punish any enemy.”

The North Korean parade is a pressurizing protest against the US administration, Joe Biden, which will be launched on the 20th. A strategic nuclear submarine equipped with SLBM is a strategic weapon for stealthy surprise strikes as one of the three nuclear triads along with an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and a nuclear bomber. SLBM is not a long-range missile that has promised to stop launching, so it could be used for the first provocation of a US reaction. It is a message to restart the provocation cycle of trading through blackmail.

The warning sound of the North Korean nuclear threat is already coming from the United States. The American Foreign Relations Association (CFR) surveyed 550 government officials and diplomatic experts, and in its report, named the North Korean nuclear program the largest threat to the United States this year. North Korea was included in the top-rated threat countries, and was evaluated as the only country with a high probability of an outbreak and its impact on the United States. It shows the perception of Washington Joya that North Korean provocations can be realized, not just horse bombs. Nevertheless, the government remains silent at the overflowing North Korean provocation signals. It can be an upbringing measure to manage rather than stimulate North Korea in sensitive times. As such threats are not once or twice, and as they are mixed with bluff and blackmail, it is not a fuss right away. However, the government leisurely seeks implications for improving relations in a few words in North Korea, such as “three years ago, spring day”, and the ruling party argues that the ROK-US joint training is reduced or Kim Jong-un returns. Therefore, in the eyes of the public, it has no choice but to appear as a creeping figure. It is questionable whether the government is making an urgent coordination of US-ROK policy toward North Korea. The ROK and the United States should jointly respond with a message to North Korea that sternly warns of the threat of provocation and calls for a change in attitude. In addition, it is necessary to re-examine our plan to increase power under rigorous information analysis on the substance of the threat. As North Korea professed to develop a strategic nuclear submarine, our nuclear submarine project was stranded before even starting. Despite this reality, the government is not even alert, so the people go beyond anxiety and despair.