North Korea Tests a New Air Defense System

North Korea's official news agency reports that the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, has overseen the testing of a "new air defense system" and has called for "mass production" and "deployment throughout the country." North Korea states that Kim Jong-un visited a "guided air defense system" that can "track and target flying objects from any direction." According to the country's state news agency, the test conducted was "successful." The report indicates that the North Korean leader told military officials that compared to last year's tests, the recent system has improved in targeting and efficiency. Kim Jong-un stated, "This weapon, whose effectiveness has been confirmed, must be produced widely for deployment throughout the country... so that the enemy's wild dream of dominating the skies and boasting does not come true." No independent sources have yet released details about this system and the testing phases. The report from North Korea's state news agency was published on June 7, and it did not mention the exact timing of the air defense test. However, this news agency typically releases news or reports one day after the official presence of the North Korean leader at military weapon testing stages. In recent years, since the rise of the third leader from the Kim family in North Korea, Pyongyang has conducted nuclear military tests three times; according to the "Center for Strategic and International Studies," it has launched over seventy missiles with ranges of less than two thousand kilometers and more than two thousand kilometers. These launches are nearly four times more than the recorded missile tests before Kim Jong-un came to power. North Korea is reportedly primarily trying to produce intercontinental missiles and achieve the capability to place nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles. The United Nations Security Council has prohibited North Korea from conducting missile and nuclear tests. Pyongyang has accused the United States and its regional allies, South Korea and Japan, of preparing to attack the country, plotting to assassinate its leader, and other matters. North Korea has also threatened to carry out a "preemptive nuclear strike" against the United States and South Korea. U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis has warned North Korea that resorting to nuclear weapons will face an effective response from the U.S. Mattis also emphasized the need to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, stating that military solutions would have "incredibly catastrophic" consequences.