North Korea engaged in a wide array of military provocations this year, ranging from the launch of hypersonic missiles in January to a drone incursion into South Korean airspace in December.

In pursuing such provocations, the North’s parliament passed legislation in early September authorizing the military to automatically launch nuclear strikes in case of a security threat against the North’s regime, making clear Pyongyang’s intent not to give up nuclear weapons.

The new law opened the possibility of the North preemptively using nuclear weapons and gave control over such use solely to regime leader Kim Jong-un.

By taking advantage of expanded adventurism across the world sparked by the Russia-Ukraine war, the North engaged in military provocations every chance it got while staying close to its allies, China and Russia.

Pyongyang was particularly active in the engagement of ballistic missile launches, firing a record of more than 60 ballistic missiles on some 30 occasions this year.

Pyongyang’s missile provocations, which started with hypersonic missiles on January 5 and 11, occurred more frequently than in previous years and involved more diverse types of missiles, demonstrating that the North has been honing its missile capability.

In November, a missile launched by the North flew south of the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border, for the first time since the division of the two Koreas. Also in the same month, the North fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM), which soared up to 61-hundred kilometers.

In response to the provocations, South Korea and the U.S. revived joint military exercises, deployed strategic assets and adopted unilateral sanctions against Pyongyang.

Meanwhile, the Yoon Suk Yeol government has left open the door for dialogue with the North under the president’s “bold initiative” which offers economic cooperation among other support to the reclusive state in return for steps toward denuclearization.

Photo : YONHAP News

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