[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Knew Signs of North Korea's Missile Launch a Day Before

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] On the 25th, North Korea conducted a show of force by launching three ballistic missiles, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), immediately after U.S. President Joe Biden's visits to South Korea and Japan. In particular, it is analyzed that North Korea aimed to neutralize the South Korea-U.S. missile defense system by mixing missiles presumed to be the ICBM 'Hwasong-17,' capable of carrying nuclear warheads, with short-range ballistic missiles called the North Korean version of Iskander (KN-23). There are also observations that this was intended to demonstrate the capability for a 'nuclear preemptive strike' targeting the U.S., South Korea, and Japan.

In response to North Korea's provocation on the same day, South Korea and the U.S. jointly responded for the first time in 4 years and 10 months by conducting combined surface-to-surface missile firing. South Korea fired one Hyunmoo-II missile, and the U.S. fired one ATACMS missile into the East Sea, demonstrating the rapid strike capability of the combined forces to deter further provocations by North Korea.

Additionally, the Air Force separately detected signs of North Korea's ballistic missile provocation the day before and continuously tracked them. Preparing for an actual launch, about 30 F-15K fighter jets were deployed on the runway fully armed and conducted an Elephant Walk training exercise, which involves multiple fighter jets taxiing on the ground in close formation fully armed just before takeoff.

Furthermore, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Won In-chul held a video conference with Combined Forces Command Commander General Paul LaCamera immediately after North Korea's ballistic missile launch to closely share the situation and reaffirmed the strengthening of the South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture.

Military authorities also stated, "North Korea's ICBM launch is a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions and a serious provocation, as North Korea has once again broken its self-imposed moratorium on ICBM launches promised to the international community." They added, "We are tracking and monitoring related developments in preparation for additional provocations and maintaining a full readiness posture to guarantee overwhelming victory at all times."

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