Chairman of the Joint Chiefs: "North Korea Will Surely Pay the Price... Eradicate War Intent"

Chairman Kim Seung-gyeom Visits Combined Ground Forces Command
"Strengthening Operational Readiness Through Freedom Shield Joint Exercise"

Regarding North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) aimed at the South Korea-Japan summit, Kim Seung-gyeom, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, emphasized that "the enemy's will to conduct war must be annihilated."

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the 16th, Chairman Kim visited the Combined Forces Ground Component Command, which is conducting the South Korea-U.S. joint exercise 'Freedom Shield (FS),' to inspect the exercise situation and made these remarks. At the command's wartime command post, Chairman Kim received a report on the FS exercise situation from the combined operations staff and discussed effective operational execution plans to achieve the strategic goals of the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Seung-gyeom Visits the Combined Ground Operations Command Command Post [Photo by Joint Chiefs of Staff]

At this meeting, Chairman Kim reiterated, "North Korea's will and strategy for communist unification of the South remain unchanged, and even if war breaks out immediately, we must fight as planned and annihilate the enemy's will to conduct war." He also urged, "Strengthen operational readiness in case of emergency through realistic and intensive FS joint exercises."

Regarding North Korea's escalation of military tensions by launching the ICBM, he instructed, "Maintain a firm readiness posture to ensure the enemy pays the price through thorough preparation against reckless and outrageous provocations and resolute, bold responses."

Additionally, Chairman Kim visited the U.S. military command post participating in the exercise to encourage the U.S. reinforcements and requested, "In the face of escalating threats and a changed security environment, please further strengthen the ironclad operational posture of the alliance through joint exercises."

The Combined Forces Command is a command jointly formed by South Korea and the U.S. during wartime, consisting of ground, naval, and air component commands. The Army Ground Operations Commander also serves as the Ground Component Commander. In preparation for the FS exercise, the combined command is assumed to be formed, and the joint exercise is being conducted accordingly.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Seung-gyeom Visits U.S. Military Command Post
[Photo by Joint Chiefs of Staff]

Meanwhile, the military detected one long-range ballistic missile launched by North Korea around 7:10 a.m. from the Sunan area in Pyongyang toward the East Sea. The missile, launched at a high angle, flew approximately 1,000 km before landing in the East Sea. This marks the sixth missile provocation this year and the first ICBM launch in a month since the 'Hwasong-15' was launched at a high angle on the 18th of last month. Prior to the start of FS, North Korea fired two submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs) on the 12th and two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) on the 14th.

North Korea's provocation appears to be aimed at the South Korea-Japan summit held on the same day by President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, demonstrating confidence in its capability to strike from the Japanese mainland to Guam, where a U.S. Air Force base is located. As South Korea-Japan relations, which had cooled during the Moon Jae-in administration, begin to restore in earnest with this summit, and security cooperation between the two countries is expected to increase, including the normalization of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), North Korea is interpreted to have taken preemptive measures to counter this.

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