Latest from North Korea: Kim Jong-un's warning, a music video and a missile launch
Are you worried about the recent coronavirus outbreak in China and whether it will spread to other countries? Have you been depressed over the Ukraine-Russia war and the grim warnings of a possible World War 3? Have you been busy making ends meet as oil prices soar around the world and the stock market continues its aggressive ups and downs? Have you been worried about the increasingly polluted environment? Well, the democratic world is trying to keep its sanity together just like you and me.
But there’s one more element stirring the pot - North Korea. Just when you think you can forget about this faraway land of a dictator with funny laws, or only think about it in terms of the K-Drama Crash Landing On You, it makes it presence known rather grimly.
North Korea tested its newest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-17 on March 24, 2022, Thursday. Japan and South Korea both confirmed the launch. The missile tests are nothing new for North Korea. But this one is slightly different from the other missile tests, from the missile to the strange Hollywood-esque video that the state media released on its account.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT NORTH KOREA’S NEW HWASONG-17 MISSILE
#NorthKorea ?? suspected to have successfully conducted its first full lofted trajectory test of Hwasong-17 ICBM (Thread?)https://t.co/RB8FW9z7ck pic.twitter.com/fYUMwVKlk0
— Joseph Dempsey (@JosephHDempsey) March 24, 2022
1. It is DPRK’s (official name for North Korea – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) first ICBM launch since 2017.
2. It is North Korea’s biggest missile launch since 2017 and reportedly the most powerful missile test ever.
3. The missile was launched from Pyongyang Sunan International Airport. According to North Korean media it flew 1,090 km at a maximum altitude of 6,248.5 km.
4. It landed in the Sea of Japan (Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone). Tokyo said it will try to recover any residues left by the missile from the site.
5. The missile is touted to be one of the most powerful ones ever developed in the world. It is also touted to be able to hit any target anywhere in the United States. The last missile launch in January 2022 was an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which is reportedly capable of striking a remote US territorial island, Guam, in Oceania. But the latest one can even strike inside mainland US.
6. Reports said that the latest missile flew higher and longer than any other missile in the history of North Korea.
7. The Hwasong-17 is said to be the same massive missile that was showcased in 2020 during the 75th anniversary of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party.
#NorthKorea's ICBM test-launch reached an apogee of 6000 km and a downfield range of 1100 km as it flew for 70 minutes, landing inside Japan's exclusive economic zone.Tokyo hopes to recover any objects it can find off the Aomori Prefecture. pic.twitter.com/sRiyJLsnKG
— Devi Rhamesz (@ChrliesWarchest) March 24, 2022
8. Reports also said that a failure of launching the missile from close to the capital city of Pyongyang could have endangered its residents.
9. There is also a doubt however, that the launch showed by North Korean state media may not be a recent one or may not have involved the 'monster missile' (Hwasong-17) as claimed.
Excellent analysis by @ColinZwirkoThe Hwasong-17 launch shown may not have been on the 24 March. Was a more reliable ICBM (Hwasong-15) used on 24 March to fake a Hwasong-17 success following the 16 March failure?https://t.co/QMUWMeEK01
— Joseph Dempsey (@JosephHDempsey) March 25, 2022
THE STRANGE MUSIC VIDEO
What sticks out in this entire fiasco is the weird and out of character music video of the launch starring North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-un and other officials. The video shows Kim and his officials walking out of a hangar in style. Kim is seen wearing black leather jacket and black shades, in complete Hollywood style.
BREAKING: North Korea's state-run television shows edited footage of Kim Jong Un guiding the test-launch of what the country referred to as the Hwasong-17 ICBM.Latest story: https://t.co/belL7EdPUl(Video: KCTV) pic.twitter.com/APifRhtJVr
— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) March 25, 2022
The slow motion shots of Kim removing his shades and signalling his officers in Quentin Tarantino-style music is something that’s got the world talking. The music video is not just a laughing stock; it seems like a message to the Western World as well as a propaganda machine aimed at North Koreans.
The message to the world: North Korea is confident, wants the world to be talking about the country and take its nuclear programmes seriously.
The message to North Koreans: While there is no way to measure ordinary North Koreans' reaction to the unusual 15-minute video, it is said to be a practice in propaganda. Using the Hollywood-esque music with Kim as the hero is supposed to boost his image as a muscular leader.
In a way, the music video is sort of a satire. North Korea has been at war with the US officially, since the 50s Korean War. The North Korean state views America as its enemy and despises every aspect of being American. So, stealing America’s filming style to showcase them the weapons they will use against the US is – in a way – a twisted message.
KIM’S WARNINGS
It’s not the just the missile test that has the world squirming in nervousness. As the leader of the free world, US President Joe Biden gave a speech on Russia in Poland on Sunday, March 27, 2022 – a few kms away from the war in Ukraine – Kim Jong-un on Monday, March 28, 2022, said that North Korea will continue to develop ‘formidable striking capabilities’ that are non-negotiable by any terms.
The comments came as the US pushed the UN for more sanctions on the rogue nation on Friday after the missile launch and also urged China and Russia, its two current enemies, to ask North Korea to give up its nuclear programmes.
North Korea has been at its nuclear programmes despite the UN sanctions, making lives harsher in the pariah nation. North Korea has been historically supported by fellow communist regimes in China and Russia, its border neighbours. However, Covid-19 has once again caused hardships on China-North Korea borders. On the other hand, dignitaries of Russia and North Korea met on March 22, 2022 to discuss bilateral relations and the current Ukraine war situation.
When was the last time you read something uplifting about the current state of the world? The world definitely isn’t looking forward to living in a real Tarantino film, which even North Korea seems to have caught up on and taken a liking to.