North Korea says it has averted new U.S. missile threats by intercepting Tomahawk

• North Korea said it had intercepted the “dodgeable missile strike” by the United States with its Tomahawk cruise missile.
• According to KCNA, Kim Yo Jong said that a test of a Tomahawk missile from the Aegis Chokai was carried out, and that the missile was intercepted by Japan’s air defenses.
• Analysts believe that North Korea’s statement is aimed at presenting the modernization of Japan’s missile defense system as a result of the development of its own weapons.

North Korea said that it had repelled the “dodgeable missile strike” by the United States after Japan, as Tokyo’s media reported, carried out a Tomahawk cruise missile launch. The report said the information was provided by KCNA, citing a statement from Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Kim Yo Jong said that Japan, in her view, is taking part in the “preventive attack” and the “preemptive missile strike,” and she warned that the missile was launched after Japan’s decision to do so. She also said North Korea would respond to the missile launch, and that it would take “necessary measures.”

Kim Yo Jong later said that North Korea had launched a Tomahawk missile test from the Aegis Chokai into the sea, and that it had intercepted the missile in the air over Japan. She said that the purpose of the test was to assess the effectiveness of Japan’s missile defense system. She also said that the missile launch was carried out without any warning.

She added that the test showed that the “We should make it regret” line, which North Korea had previously said, would be put into practice.

Kim Yo Jong also said that the United States and Japan had decided to conduct a missile test, and that it was intended to provide the United States with data on how to use the Tomahawk missile. She claimed that the test was designed to help the United States plan its future actions against North Korea.

Meanwhile, analysts say that North Korea’s message about its interception capabilities is aimed at strengthening its deterrence and sending a warning to the United States and Japan. Professor Yang Moo-jin of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses said that Kim Yo Jong’s statement suggests that the missile interception capabilities are being improved. Professor Lim Eul-chul of the Lim Chun University said that it is possible that the modernization of missile defense systems is being driven by the development of North Korea’s weapons.

Tags: USA/Russia/Middle East/Politics