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Rockets and Drills: Tit-for-Tat with North Korea

The cycle of North Korean rocket launches continues.

In the past few months, the president of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, has directed his military forces to launch a bevy of short-range rockets, medium-range missiles, and Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). This November, two dozen missiles were launched in two days. Along with the weapons firings came the anticipated but no less menacing warnings to the US and its allies. A cycle has emerged of North Korean missile and rocket launches followed by the US and its Indo-Pacific partners increasing the frequency of combined military exercises, in turn prompting more missile firings. So, does the Biden national security team have a secret strategy to run the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) out of these projectiles?

With the increased number of North Korean missile tests, the US and its allies, including South Korea, are obligated to respond. In a recent news conference, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and South Korean Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup pledged continued collaboration. Austin said:

“[I]t’s highly unfortunate that the DPRK has chosen to interrupt this solemn period with the illegal and destabilizing launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile last night [November 2], as well as additional missile launches today. I’ve consulted with Minister Lee, and we’ve decided to extend Vigilant Storm, which is our long-scheduled combined training exercise to further bolster our readiness and interoperability. And we’ll continue to work closely together…”

Exercise Vigilant Storm is a combined US-South Korean drill involving as many as 240 aircraft from the two countries, including the US’ newest ground attack aircraft, the F-35, and thousands of US and South Korean ground forces. The increased exercise tempo and extended time frame came on the heels of Pyongyang’s belligerent behavior. “The launches are the latest in a series of North Korean weapons tests in recent months that have raised tensions in the region,” the Associated Press reported. “They came a day after the North fired more than 20 missiles, the most it has launched in a single day ever.” But South Korea is not the only country near Kim’s missile barrages. “An initial Japanese government warning that an apparent ICBM had flown over the country triggered alarms for some residents to seek shelter,” Reuters explained. The initial belief the missile had flown over Japan proved incorrect, but nonetheless prompted concern.

North Korea Announces Nuclear Threats

In addition to attempted missile intimidations from the DPRK, President Kim has signaled a resumption of North Korean nuclear weapons tests. Moreover, recent reporting indicates Pyongyang has issued a veiled promise of using nuclear missiles. Those threats brought an immediate and robust response from South Korea and the US. “Secretary Austin and I affirm that any nuclear attack by the DPRK, including the use of tactical nuclear weapons, is unacceptable and would result in the end of the Kim Jong Un regime,” National Defense Minister Lee said defiantly during the press conference.

The conundrum for the Biden administration is that Kim Jong Un as a nuclear threat with periodic missile-launching tantrums does not present the only global peril. When former President George W. Bush used the term “axis of evil” in his State of the Union address on January 29, 2002, his prescience proved to last the test of time. Calling out specifically North Korea and Iran, but asserting a caution regarding Russia and China, President Bush painted a montage of threats to the US, present today. However, currently, those hazards combine to be more ominous.

Pentagon Must Contend with Multiple Enemies

GettyImages-1244495206 Joe Biden

Joe Biden (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

Russia’s unprovoked invasion and continuing devastation of Ukraine is draining America’s stockpile of precision-guided munitions, artillery shells, and multiple launch rocket systems. It is also skyrocketing the national debt. Beijing is building common cause with the Russians by backstopping President Vladimir Putin’s cash problems by buying Russian oil and gas. Iran is adding deadly drones to the Kremlin’s brutal attacks in Ukraine and continuing its nuclear and missile development programs. North Korea is doing its part for the axis of evil team, providing artillery shells and other weapons to Russia while tying up the US Navy and other military assets with exercises in the Indo-Pacific.

As the axis of evil threats grow, the Biden administration is faced with diminishing armed forces capability. As Liberty Nation pointed out in its review of the Heritage Foundation’s 2023 Index of US Military Strength, the Pentagon’s capacity to deal with multiple contingencies is not looking good for the home team. Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran continue to be the axis of evil. Dealing with this global menace cannot be accomplished piecemeal as each pops out of a Whack-a-Mole hole.

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