‘Likely to offend Beijing!’ Strike on North Korea’s secret military base risks China row

The US think tank has uncovered a vast North Korean military complex close to the country’s border with China. Seoul based journalist Frank Smith has explained why any moves by the West to potentialy target the missile site in North Korea with a primitive strike would risk angering Beijing. 

Mr Smith told TRT World: “This isn’t the first such base that’s been discovered inside North Korea but what is kind of new about this is the scope of it.

“A large complex capable of holding a regiment and also its location, as you mentioned, just 25 kilometres from China.

“That would make some type of preemptive strike on this site very, very risky and likely to offend North Korea’s ally in Beijing.

“It’s also outlined the secrecy involved in these bases some 20 other bases and again, that would preclude the sort of potential success of a preemptive strike something that’s actually advocated as a policy by a conservative presidential candidate here in the [South Korean] election coming up on March 9.”

A statement from North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said a series of tests since New Year represented “remarkable achievements” that strengthened North Korea’s “war deterrence.”

It also cited the Hwasong-15, the longest-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) ever launched by North Korea, which hasn’t been fired since its first test in 2017, and is believed to have the range to deliver a nuclear warhead anywhere in the United States.

“In today’s world where many countries waste time dealing with the United States with submission and blind obedience, there’s only our country on this planet that can shake the world by firing a missile with the U.S. mainland in its range,” the statment said.

“There are more than 200 countries in the world, but only a few have hydrogen bombs, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and hypersonic missiles,” it read.

North Korea boasted on Tuesday that it is one of only a handful of countries in the world to field nuclear weapons and advanced missiles and the only one standing up to the United States by “shaking the world” with missile tests

A State Department spokesperson also called North Korea a threat to international peace and security and global nonproliferation efforts.

“The United States has a vital interest in deterring [North Korea], defending against its provocations or uses of force, limiting the reach of its most dangerous weapons programs, and above all keeping the American people, our deployed forces, and our allies safe,” the spokesperson said.

Jenny Town, director of 38 North, a Washington-based North Korea program, said the fact that North Korea’s statement came from its foreign ministry probably made the statement less threatening than it might appear.

“The formulation is very passive. Not that they will do it, but that they can,” she said.