GLOBAL DEFENSE's video: North Korea s Unprecedented spate of ballistic missile launches in 2022 Strategic Build-Up

North Korea’s Unprecedented spate of ballistic missile launches in 2022 & Strategic Build-Up, Following the unprecedented spate of ballistic missile launches in 2022, North Korea will likely materialize new nuclear and missile developments this year. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to keep developing his country’s nuclear and missile programs during the Workers’ Party of Korea plenary session from December 26 to December 31. That seems to be a prelude for the North test-firing more advanced missile programs in 2023. In his report on agenda items discussed during the meeting, Kim ordered his military to exponentially increase the country’s nuclear arsenal while highlighting the importance of “mass-producing of tactical nuclear weapons.” Tactical nuclear weapons are meant to increase military leverage against South Korea, as Pyongyang already implied that such weapons might be deployed to the front-line units near the inter-Korean border following its codification of a new law to support nuclear forces in September. Extorting the current situation, where the South has no nuclear weapons, North Korea will use its tactical nuclear weapons as a powerful tool of deterrence. Pyongyang’s emphasis on tactical nukes came months after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol took office in May 2022. In a bid to confront Yoon’s hawkish overtures against the country, Kim activated his “power to power” principle vis-a-vis South Korea by conducting missile tests and military drills in quick succession. Given Yoon’s remarks during the presidential campaign involving the potential for a preemptive strike against the North and the redeployment of US nuclear weapons on the South’s soil, it was only a matter of time to witness the North taking aggressive corresponding measures.