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NORTH KOREA: Kim Jong-Un Orders Nuclear Readiness Amid Cruise Missile Test

NORTH KOREA
EM BulletHomepagemarkets-real-timeAPACPolitical RiskPolitical Risk BulletBulletEmerging Market NewsNorth Korea

North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un ordered full nuclear readiness after overseeing a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles, the country's state media reported earlier on Friday. The test was conducted on Wednesday off the west coast of the Korean peninsula, which was later confirmed by the South Korean military.

  • North Korea has taken a more assertive foreign policy trajectory over the past few years, gradually abandoning any attempts at rapprochement with the South and officially designating the neighbouring country as its chief enemy, increasing its missile-test activity, and contributing troops to Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.
  • Per a Yonhap report, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said that North Korea deployed additional troops to the Russian region of Kursk, but the exact size of the reinforcement was uncertain. Furthermore, it seemed that North Korean troops were moved back to the frontlines after a "month-long lull" caused by heavy casualties.
  • Analytical portal 38North noted that the attrition rate of North Korean troops during the first three months of fighting may have been as high as 40% (including both dead and severely wounded), due to their "unfamiliarity with high-intensity frontline combat, technological shortcomings and morale crises."
  • The re-election of Donald Trump raises questions about his approach to North Korea. The POTUS held several rounds of talks with North Korea's Kim Jong-Un during his first term in the White House, but failed to achieve any breakthrough, while the international context has changed markedly since then.
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North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un ordered full nuclear readiness after overseeing a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles, the country's state media reported earlier on Friday. The test was conducted on Wednesday off the west coast of the Korean peninsula, which was later confirmed by the South Korean military.

  • North Korea has taken a more assertive foreign policy trajectory over the past few years, gradually abandoning any attempts at rapprochement with the South and officially designating the neighbouring country as its chief enemy, increasing its missile-test activity, and contributing troops to Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.
  • Per a Yonhap report, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said that North Korea deployed additional troops to the Russian region of Kursk, but the exact size of the reinforcement was uncertain. Furthermore, it seemed that North Korean troops were moved back to the frontlines after a "month-long lull" caused by heavy casualties.
  • Analytical portal 38North noted that the attrition rate of North Korean troops during the first three months of fighting may have been as high as 40% (including both dead and severely wounded), due to their "unfamiliarity with high-intensity frontline combat, technological shortcomings and morale crises."
  • The re-election of Donald Trump raises questions about his approach to North Korea. The POTUS held several rounds of talks with North Korea's Kim Jong-Un during his first term in the White House, but failed to achieve any breakthrough, while the international context has changed markedly since then.