satellites and bombs
Protected by Russia and China, North Korea is becoming increasingly aggressive
Giulia Pompili April 20, 2023
Kim’s regime is about to send a spy satellite into orbit. Global destabilization is one of the reasons Seoul is ready to join the western coalition and arm Ukraine
Yesterday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his 10-year-old daughter Kim Ju Ae – who are now increasingly present at her father’s official events – visited the Nada space agency in Pyongyang and declared complete the development of the first satellite to spy on the North Korean regime. As the official press agency KCNA reports, Kim is said to have given the green light for the launch of the satellite. But to send such a system into orbit you need a launch vehicle whose technology is almost identical to that of an ICBM. So, soon there will be a new North Korean missile test, which violates the rules imposed by the international community in Pyongyang.
On April 13, North Korea conducted the first test of a solid-propelled ICBM, which takes less time to launch and is more difficult for missile defense systems to detect than previously used powered missiles — which was also one of the most recent goals of North Korea’s arms development leadership. According to the regime, in recent weeks it has also tested a submarine drone that can equip rockets with nuclear warheads: based on the images published by the official media, international analysts cannot rule out that Pyongyang’s statements are not true. According to Kim’s leadership, the spy satellite is intended to provide North Korea with information for “a possible pre-emptive strike” against “enemies”, above all America, South Korea and Japan, which reacted to the North Korean threat with joint naval exercises on Monday and strengthen their military presence in the area the peninsula as a deterrent. Pyongyang previously launched two “Earth Observation” satellites in 2012 and 2016, but neither appear to be able to return images. The technology of the latter satellite, which is due to be launched shortly, could be significantly higher, according to observers.
In recent months, and particularly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the North Korean regime has intensified its threats against America and its allies and demonstrations of force with missile tests and launches. Even if it rarely makes international headlines: North Korea and its aggressiveness have been the focus of various discussions at the foreign ministers’ summit in Japan over the past few days. The North Korean threat is particularly concrete for the countries of East Asia: for example, its missile tests, which are announced less and less timely to the responsible international authorities, increase the risk factors for commercial aircraft. Pyongyang is an agent of chaos, and it can be, because the People’s Republic of China and Russia protect North Korea and its aggressive and increasingly armed leadership in all international forums.
A diplomatic source told Il Foglio that Pyongyang is currently “without brakes and reins.” Last Monday, at the request of countries such as France, the United Kingdom and the United States, the United Nations Security Council held a public briefing on the North Korean missile test of 14 emergency procedures “Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. China has resisted public discussion, asking for closed-door consultations to avoid the “politicized atmosphere.” According to the minutes of the discussion, Russia, the current President of the Security Council, also supported the Chinese proposal. The public debate took place nonetheless, and while most of the countries present condemned North Korea’s bellicose actions, the Chinese delegate said that “recent United States military exercises near the Korean peninsula have increased security threats in Pyongyang.” America is for Beijing “the main trigger of the current tensions in the peninsula”. The Russian delegate said certain meetings of the Council were for “propaganda purposes”. Both Beijing and Moscow are opposed, using their veto power to block any resolution pushing through new sanctions against Pyongyang and its arms program within the UN.
And it’s no coincidence that Deputy President of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram yesterday that if Seoul is ready “to help our enemies,” South Korean citizens will soon have to deal with “the latest project of Russian weapons , which their neighbors, that is, our partners from North Korea, will have. It is what is called quid pro quo”, an expression which in Anglo-Saxon countries has the meaning of “having something for it” and not misunderstandings. After the South Korean While President Yoon Suk-yeol had long denied the possibility of directly supporting Kiev with offensive weapons, in an interview with Portal the day before yesterday he opened up the possibility of supplying weapons to the Ukrainian defense.