Defense Research Institute: North Korea May Announce Neutron Bomb After Nuclear Test

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It is forecasted that North Korea will rapidly escalate the level of strategic provocations, including the 7th nuclear test, after May.

Lee Sang-min, head of the North Korean Military Research Office at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), stated at KIDA's 'First Half North Korean Military Forum' held on the afternoon of the 28th at the Defense Convention in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, "The situation where strategic provocations were intensified through ballistic missile test launches and nuclear tests until the declaration of 'nuclear force completion' at the end of 2017 is expected to be reproduced in a compressed timeframe in 2022." He added, "After May, it is expected that the 7th nuclear test, additional ICBM test launches, and military satellite launches will be conducted."

Mentions were also made regarding neutron bombs and nuclear EMP bombs. Neutron bombs and nuclear EMP bombs are types of tactical nuclear weapons, along with small tactical nukes mounted on short-range ballistic missiles. Neutron bombs can maximize human casualties while minimizing damage to facilities and equipment, whereas nuclear EMP bombs can disable major facilities and equipment on a large scale without causing human casualties.

Lee predicted that if North Korea carries out the 7th nuclear test, "there is a possibility they will announce that they tested neutron bombs or nuclear EMP bombs," and pointed out, "Currently, (our military's) capability to defend against neutron and EMP attacks is insufficient."

However, Lee also forecasted that North Korea "will not be able to continue provocations indefinitely and is likely to attempt a shift in posture around the U.S. midterm elections in November 2022 or around the U.S. presidential election at the end of 2024."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.