North Korea has made significant progress in the miniaturisation of nuclear warheads and the development of nuclear weapons in general, but North Korea’s declared installation of a nuclear warhead on several tactical guided weapons systems remains unlikely, according to South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sub, according to Yonhap News Agency.
In response to a question about whether North Korea has the technology to miniaturise a nuclear warhead and attach it to tactical weapons, the minister stated that Pyongyang had made tremendous progress.
“We do not think that North Korea’s declared deployment of a nuclear warhead on several tactical guided weapons systems is possible, but South Korea and the United States are considering such a possibility,” Lee Jong Sub said at a meeting of the national defence committee in the South Korean parliament.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) held drills on March 18-19 to strengthen its tactical nuclear capacity, war deterrent, and counterattack capabilities. The DPRK asserts that their tactical missile was fired from Cheolsan County in North Pyongan Province, flew 800 km at an altitude of 800 meters, and exploded over a target location in the Sea of Japan. Pyongyang said that the drills proved the reliability of the nuclear explosion control devices and detonators that are installed in a nuclear warhead. According to the photographs of the DPRK launch, the missile appeared to be launched from a ground platform or a missile silo.
Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, declared in January that his country’s newly developed super-large 600-millimeter multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) could potentially carry nuclear weapons. He and his daughter also investigated a storage facility with KN-23 nuclear missiles designed for tactical use. In addition, throughout February, the tactical nuclear unit marched in a military parade to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army (KPA).
