Title: North Korea’s Artillery Drills and the Looming Threat to South Korea and US Military
North Korea showcased its long-range artillery systems on Thursday, as thousands of weapons were put on display. According to military experts, these weapons could be used to strike the South with minimal warning, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties.
The timing of North Korea’s artillery drills comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, with the United States and South Korea conducting their annual Freedom Shield exercise. The South Korean military stated that this year’s joint exercises would focus on deterring North Korea’s nuclear threats.
North Korea’s Defense Ministry criticized the US-South Korea joint exercises, labeling them as “provocative” and “reckless.” The North Korean government warned its forces to monitor any “adventurist acts” and carry out “responsible military activities” in response to the perceived unstable Website security situation.
This week, North Korea held two drills – on Thursday, it showcased its long-range artillery systems, and on Wednesday, ground forces appeared to infiltrate border guard posts during maneuvers. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed both drills, as reported by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
On Friday, a KCNA report stated that the artillery drill was intended to convey a message to the South. The statement read: “The drill started with the power demonstration firing of the long-range artillery sub-units near the border who have put the enemy’s capital in their striking range and fulfilled important military missions for war deterrence.”
Kim emphasized the significance of readying “for regular combat mobilization so that all the artillery sub-units can take the initiative with merciless and rapid strikes at the moment of their entry into an actual war.”
In recent weeks, there have been reports that North Korea is providing artillery systems to Russian forces in Ukraine. Since August, Pyongyang has shipped around 6,700 containers to Russia, which could potentially accommodate over 3 million rounds of artillery shells or more than 500,000 rounds for multiple rocket launchers, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry.
The presence of these weapons in Ukraine poses a significant challenge for its defenders. However, they also pose a constant threat to South Korea and US military forces stationed on the Korean Peninsula. Artillery strikes are almost impossible to defend against, as a 2020 report from the RAND Corporation noted. North Korea’s artillery systems, which have nearly 6,000 big guns within range of major South Korean population centers, were found to present an equal danger to the South as Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.
According to the report, North Korean artillery could potentially kill more than 10,000 people in an hour if fired at civilian targets. In one scenario, a one-minute barrage on a 2.4-square-kilometer area of the capital Seoul using just 54 multiple rocket launchers was predicted to result in over 10,000 casualties.
The report also stated that countering North Korean artillery would be a challenge for US and South Korean forces due to the physical protective measures deployed at these artillery sites, such as air defense capabilities.
In recent months, Kim has taken an increasingly hardline stance against South Korea. He declared that the North would no longer pursue reconciliation and reunification with the South and instructed key sectors, including the army, munitions industry, nuclear weapons, and civil defense sectors, to accelerate war preparations in response to perceived hostile acts by the US.
In January, Kim labeled the South as the North’s “primary foe and invariable principal enemy” and ordered the demolition of a reunification monument in the North Korean capital.
