The South Korean military was on high alert last week after five North Korean drones crossed its airspace and one of them crashed.
The drone was less than 2 meters long. Four drones flew around Ganghwa Island and one flew over the airspace north of the capital Seoul. This exercise was a violation of airspace.
North Korea is happy to provoke South Korea by sending these drones across the border. It does so to map information about the defensive layout of the adversary’s territory. These drones are small and stealthy and therefore a challenge to mitigate. One of the crashed drones pictured below contains sensors, cameras, and storage spaces for chemical and biological weapons.
The target of the North Korean provocation
According to South Korean President Yoon Seok-Yeol, the North’s goal with this type of provocation is “to expose weaknesses and exacerbate conflicts within South Korean society.” President Yoon’s strategy of responding immediately to provocations is also increasing tensions in the area. In addition, the Pyongyang regime always tries to show the weakness of certain aspects of the South Korean arsenal.
Historically, North Korean provocations have always been justified on the grounds of the “vitality” of the regime vis-à-vis the United States. This rather classic argument is also used against the South. Since President Yoon’s election, Korea’s foreign policy has changed. South Korea’s desire to get closer to Japan and cooperate militarily has threatened the interests of North Korea, which is aligned with big brother China.
South Korea’s strategy of taking a firm stance of rapid response to the North’s provocations, as well as providing development support, is a bold plan to help the North Korean economy against denuclearization and is aimed at subverting the strategy North Korean.
North Korea’s medical support system is in crisis. One of Kim Jong-Un’s mentors who died during the recent epidemic was a key adviser to his regime. To cover medical, food and agricultural shortages, North Korea applies the policy of massive financing of the army to “deter” enemies. At present, what protects North Korea is its powerful ally China, which benefits from this association to exchange anti-tobacco medicines and some raw materials.
A new era in North Korean military development
Do not reveal the cards to the enemy is one of the basic principles of the art of war and a lesson learned by the South Korean government. In fact, on December 19, North Korea, through its central news agency, announced the successful launch of a “satellite.” Obviously, such an announcement is unprecedented. But for now, the South Korean government is sticking to its “ballistic missile” version. North Korea fired this missile from the Sohae launch base in North Pyongyang province. This place is one of the strategic launching points for North Korean ballistic missiles.
It is undeniable that the regime intends to launch into the conquest of space to collect data and information. In a nutshell, we can say that with the help of its allies, Pyongyang launched test satellites. For now, Seoul is studying North Korean intentions. Washington and Tokyo are analyzing the images and data from the North Korean central agency.
In effect, the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea is entering the space age. In the coming weeks, the Seoul authorities and their allies will redefine strategies to deal with this new challenge. Pyongyang may launch satellites to demonstrate its capabilities. You can read the progress of the Chinese with their space station along with Pyongyang’s willingness to manufacture satellites. This may be an attempt by non-Western countries to have true spatial autonomy. It also signifies your desire to do autonomous intelligence and provide technical support for Internet connectivity. The world knows of Pyongyang’s “big step” in launching potential satellites in the future. This initiative could be to counter Seoul’s advance in a space raid.
We are entering an era in which North Korea dares to compete with the South in space as well as in the military. This development will further weaken the economy of the North. Its rapprochement with China may allow North Korea to make up for this loss. In addition, large networks such as “Office 39” can amass considerable funding and resources for the regime. In military research and development policy, North Korea is also developing drone technology. They are developing modern aircraft arsenals that can work with drones. This may form part of an international military development strategy of non-Western countries allied to Russia.
The threat of Chinese WZ-7 drones
Resetting nations after the Cold War era, the China-Russia nexus and the developing arsenal of North Korea could become a formidable challenge to the Western world in the near future. What we know about North Korea’s arsenal is quite confusing. Pyongyang is an expert in data confusion. The most recent case is the flu epidemic in Korea (covid pandemic). The revealed death figures are neither reliable nor proven. But this is not unique to North Korea. From 1970 to 1990, the regime was able to hide its nuclear development infrastructures. Also, the information we have about North Korea’s missile program is not enough.
We may have some by analyzing the images released by the North Korean Central News Agency (KNCA). A drone received in South Korea on the other side of the border, as shown in the image above, would be a great source of information to analyze the capabilities of North Korea’s strategically important civil and military infrastructures. These drones can be a real threat if they carry chemical and bacteriological weapons. Despite vague and diffuse reports, we don’t know much about the development of these types of weapons in North Korea. (https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/north-koreas-biological-weapons-program-known-and-unknown)
North Korea is multiplying its sources of deterrence in the nuclear, bacteriological and chemical fields. President Yoon Seok-Yeol’s direct response strategy may lead to a new escalation of the inter-Korean conflict. Both countries have increased their military development and have changed their defense doctrines. With this they intend to demonstrate who is the most powerful and deterrent. The ideology of the North specifies that the regime is against the US and not against its blood brothers in the South. Reunification is a string that the regime can play to obtain favors and money from the South. This is in addition to Chinese and Russian support as well as funding. For now, Pyongyang must be allowed to continue its way of financing the army and its people. Drone provocation is an attempt to intimidate the world.
Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of India or Defense Research and Studies.
Article republished within the framework of an agreement with Dras (Defense Research and studies) to share content. Link to the original article: https://dras.in/drones-from-north-korea-a-provocation-and-violation-of-airspace/
