SEOUL, March 28. /TASS/. North Korean media reports about the latest orders issued by the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, closely echo those that preceded the sixth nuclear test in 2017, as reflected in a comment obtained by TASS from Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Research Center for Unification Strategies for the Korean Peninsula at South Korea’s Sejong Institute.
"The content of today's article in [official North Korean newspaper] Rodong Sinmun about Kim Jong-un's leadership in the operational commissioning of nuclear weapons is almost identical to [the newspaper’s] reports on the eve of the sixth nuclear test on September 3, 2017," the expert believes. In particular, he pointed out the strong similarity to the headlines of the relevant articles and the list of officials attending the event under Kim’s leadership, as well as the stated objectives.
According to Cheong, the 2017 article was headlined "Esteemed Supreme Leader Comrade Kim Jong-un Leads Operational Commissioning of Nuclear Weapons," whereas the current article is headlined "Esteemed Comrade Kim Jong-un Leads Operational Commissioning of Nuclear Weapons." Both now and in 2017, the ceremony was attended by senior officials from the defense industry department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and scientists from the Institute of Nuclear Weapons, and an official report was delivered to the North Korean leader on the situation in the field of nuclear weapons.
In 2023, Kim Jong-un has been briefed on the Hwasan-31 tactical nuclear warhead, while in 2017 he was acquainted with the technical parameters of the then-new hydrogen bomb, designed for intercontinental ballistic missiles, the expert recalls. Both then and now, the DPRK leader set a series of "keynote objectives" for defense sector scientists and underscored the need for intensive "shock work" efforts at the final development stage before completing the improvement of nuclear forces.
The newspaper emphasized then that for attaining a greater strike effect the hydrogen bomb may be detonated at a considerable altitude. This time, Rodong Sinmun reported a test launch of surface-to-surface tactical ballistic missiles with a simulation of an airborne nuclear blast at an altitude of 500 meters above the target.
On September 3, 2017, the DPRK conducted its sixth nuclear test at the Phungeri test site in Kilju. The Nuclear Weapons Institute published a report on the successful test of a hydrogen bomb, the expert recalls.
Outlook for more tests
If Pyongyang "follows a similar path" now, then in the "near future" we can expect statements from the Institute of Nuclear Weapons about a "successful test of a miniaturized nuclear warhead for tactical weapons," the expert believes. Cheong predicts that up to April 15, the Day of the Sun public holiday (birthday of the founder of the DPRK, Kim Il-sung), and then until July 27, the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, which the DPRK celebrates as the day of victory in the Patriotic Liberation War, a festive atmosphere will remain, accompanied by an "increase in the nuclear threat facing the Republic of Korea."
"Of course, no one can predict the exact date of a seventh nuclear test. However, it is highly likely that the publication of Kim Jong-un's orders to officially commission nuclear weapons for operational service indicates that the moment of a seventh nuclear test is approaching," the expert concluded.