In recent tests, North Korea has been improving the firepower of its missiles that can target South Korea, making them ready to deploy on a battlefield, experts said.“North Korea has been enhancing its firepower, war-fighting capabilities over the past two years, flight-testing a number of new systems,” including the KN-25 missile and variants such as the KN-23 and KN-24, said Michael Elleman, director of the Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Policy Program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.Both systems “are capable of threatening targets in South Korea and are likely more accurate and lethal than the systems previously seen in North Korea,” he said.Compared with artillery positioned across the North Korean side of the demilitarized zone, Elleman said, the KN-25 missiles give Pyongyang the ability “to attack the South relentlessly in the opening hours or days of conflict.”North Korea’s launches on March 2 and March 9 included KN-25 missiles that the regime began testing on August 24. FILE – A missile is fired during the test of a multiple rocket launcher in this undated photo released Aug. 25, 2019, by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency.North Korea tested similar missiles on July 31 and August 2, but they were smaller than the KN-25, Elleman said.New for North KoreaThe KN-25 is a long-range artillery rocket with a guidance system to control its flight path. Because it has a guidance system like a ballistic missile, the U.S. classifies the KN-25 as a missile. According to Elleman, the U.S. calls it “a close-range ballistic missile,” a type of short-range ballistic missile. North Korea described both launches earlier this month as “long-range artillery” drills.“The distinction between rockets and ballistic missiles is, really, kind of semantic at this point,” said Ian Williams, deputy director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “We’re seeing more and more systems that don’t fit either category perfectly.”Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at California’s Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said, “The old distinction used to be between missiles, which were guided, and artillery rockets, which were not. “Most artillery rockets are now guided because electronics are so cheap,” he said.Adding guidance technology to a long-range artillery rocket is relatively new to North Korea, Elleman said.“The U.S. has been doing it for about 20 years,” he said. “But it’s just been in the last five to 10 years that we’ve seen countries like North Korea and Iran adding guidance to what normally would be a large-diameter or long-range artillery rocket.”Although this technology may be new for Pyongyang, it is not a new strategic weapon. The country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, FILE – People watch a TV that shows a file picture of a North Korean missile for a news report on North Korea firing short-range ballistic missiles, in Seoul, South Korea, July 31, 2019.Testing for rapid firepowerIf classic FILE – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un uses binoculars while attending a drill by a unit of the Korean People’s Army, in this image released by the country’s Korean Central News Agency, Feb. 29, 2020.Wartime useElleman said firing the missiles in rapid succession suggests that the regime is testing them to be ready for wartime use.“That would suggest that they’re in the final phase of what they believe they need to do for full development,” Elleman said. “And these more recent launches were probably done under military exercises, and it was likely launched by actual troops as opposed to engineers that would be responsible for developing the system.”The tests were part of North Korea’s military drills during the regular winter training cycle.“They’re kind of firing them the way they would fire them during a wartime, during an operational scenario,” Elleman said. “These are war-fighting tools.”Xu Tianran, an analyst for the Open Nuclear Network program at One Earth Future, said, “This is especially important for North Korea as its armed forces cannot provide enough air cover for its assets on the ground.”Elleman said these missiles could load a warhead weighing from 300 to 400 kilograms.“So it’s a pretty big warhead. It can do quite a bit of damage,” Elleman said. “It will pretty much destroy almost any type of targets out to a distance of 20 meters” of its target.Because North Korea has not developed a technology to miniaturize a nuclear warhead, these missiles cannot be used for nuclear weapons.“I have seen no evidence that they could make a nuclear payload that small,” Elleman said.Williams said the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system would have hard time intercepting these missiles because they fly low and out of its coverage area. The Patriot long-range missile defense system could intercept an incoming KN-25, but there are potential challenges.“The challenge is detecting [the KN-25], seeing it coming with enough time that you can respond, enough time that you can get a fix on it, plan your engagement, and fire your interceptor,” Williams said.
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