After the Chinese National Assembly, another busy week is expected in Asia due to the exercises that South Korea and the United States started on Monday. In protest, North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong Un, welcomed them by firing him Two missiles Because he usually denounces that such military exercises are a rehearsal for the invasion of his country.
Prior to the start of the maneuvers, the communist regime in Pyongyang launched two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine on Sunday, in a clear display of its offensive capabilities. As reported by the official news agency KCNA, “The test confirmed the reliability of the weapon system and checked the operations of the submarine units that constitute one of the largest nuclear deterrents in the DPRK.” According to his information, the two missiles reached their targets in the Sea of Japan (named East in Korea) after traveling “1,500 kilometers in orbits number eight” for seven and a half seconds.
Low-flying and maneuverable in the air, cruise missiles are able to evade enemy defenses and, if confirmed to work, could hit all of South Korea and even some US military bases in Japan. But, according to South Korea’s Yonhap Agency, its Joint Chiefs of Staff does not trust this data because, given its missile monitoring, it appears that They weren’t that precise And Pyongyang may exaggerate for obvious propaganda purposes.
True or not, the tension will continue for the next 10 days, as the Liberty Shield and Warrior’s Shield military exercises take place through March 23. While the former consists of computer simulations of “realistic scenarios” such as nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, the latter is based on field maneuvers including amphibious tests and landings. Due to its sheer size, it is a recovery from the old Potro Aguila maneuvers, which former South Korean President Moon Jae-in suspended in 2019 as part of his “thaw” with Kim Jong-un. Despite his meetings and the summits that the young North Korean dictator held with former US President Donald Trump, this rapprochement ended in failure and military tension returned to the Korean Peninsula.
More projectiles and weapons
During these spring exercises, which are the large military exercises that South Korea and the United States are conducting along with the summer exercises, Pyongyang is expected to continue to protest in its own way, that is, by launching more projectiles and even missiles. The Pacific Ocean. Over the weekend, Kim Jong-un ordered the implementation of “important Practical steps Using offensive deterrent weapons, “according to the Korean Central News Agency. A few days ago, his sister and right-hand man, Kim Yo Jong, warned that North Korea could turn the Pacific Ocean into a “shooting range”, which is feared an imminent ballistic test.
To counter constant threats and provocations from its neighbor, South Korea continues to arm itself in the warmongering race that has plagued the world after the war in Ukraine. His government on Monday approved additional purchases from the United States of radar-invisible F-35A fighters and SM-6 interceptors for Aegis destroyers that it will deploy in the coming years. Although Seoul has not announced the number of fighters, Yonhap estimates there could be twenty, thus joining the 40 it already has.
To counter persistent threats, South Korea continues to arm itself in the war race that has plagued the world after the war in Ukraine.
For the fighters, built by US giant Lockheed Martin, Seoul has agreed to a package of 3.75 trillion won (2650 million euros) until 2028, and as for the SM-6 missiles, it will also pay the American company Raytheon Technologies 770 thousand million (522 million euros) until 2031.
In addition, South Korea gave the go-ahead to a 1.5 trillion won (€1.1 billion) plan to develop guided-armed vehicles between 2023 and 2032 and another 690 billion won (€500 million) plan to produce sea-to-air transport. missiles by 2030.
As in the rest of the world, the arms race is heating up on the Korean Peninsula, one of the hottest spots on the planet.
