Paying The Price For Our Arrogance – Russia Gives North Korea A Missile Capable Of Hitting Washington D.C.

Recent reporting has revealed that early on in the Ukraine war the Russians appeared willing to sit down at the negotiating table and talk about a negotiated end to the war. We were not interested. The Neo-Cons were having too much fun “killing Russians” and there were dreams of total victory. We poured jet fuel on the fire and dismissed any thought of the consequences.

We are now paying the price. War has a way of spiraling out of control, and the consequences are often difficult to predict. In 1914 the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand led very quickly to the deaths of millions. In this case, our hubris has produced a new Russian-North Korean alliance and quite possibly a direct threat to the homeland.

In July 2023 Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea. The Russian Defense Ministry simultaneously announced that one purpose of Shoigu’s visit was to “help strengthen Russian-North Korean military ties … in the development of cooperation between the two countries.” 

In September Kim Jong-un visited Russia and met with Vladimir Putin. Following these visits, there has been an explosion in the level of North Korean support for the Russian war effort in Ukraine. Satellite imagery of Najin port in North Korea shows that at least six ships have departed North Korea for Russia loaded with munitions. This is in addition to a dramatic increase in the amount of rail traffic at the Tumangang-Khasan rail crossing between North Korea and Russia.

On October 13, 2023, the U.S. government announced that North Korea had as of that time provided Russia with “more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions.”

That’s not the really bad news.

The Russians may very well have paid for all the weapons and ammunition they are getting by giving the North Koreans an ICBM. That’s the really bad news.

During his visit to Russia Kim visited sites associated with Russia’s missile and space programs. U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed in regard to the visit, that there is “reason to believe they were going to discuss military transfers.”   “They” in that sentence refers to Putin and Kim.

On July 12, 2023, North Korea launched what it calls the Hwasong-18 ICBM. Unlike previous liquid-fueled missiles, this one is solid-fueled. It can carry substantial payloads and deploy decoys to fool anti-missile defense systems. The reported physical dimensions and flight trajectory data of the Hwasong-18 are nearly identical to those of the Russian Topol-M ICBM.

This missile is capable of penetrating U.S. ballistic missile defense systems. It can hit the continental United States and can carry multiple thermonuclear warheads. A test launch carried out by the North Koreans has shown they have the range to reach Washington, D.C. North Korea now has the ability to attack the United States with nuclear weapons.

Only days ago, North Korea successfully launched a reconnaissance satellite into orbit. This followed two previous unsuccessful launches. During Kim’s visit to Russia, Putin promised to help North Korea build satellites. Seems Vlad was as good as his word. The South Koreans concur.

"Regarding the success of the third launch, the National Intelligence Service assessed that there was assistance from Russia."

Yoo Sang-bum, a member of the South Korean parliamentary intelligence committee discussing an assessment by the South Korean National Intelligence Service.

Following the launch of the satellite, North Korea announced that it was reviewing imagery taken of U.S. bases on Guam. It was impossible to confirm or refute the claim.

North Korea is estimated to have roughly 30 nuclear weapons and enough fissile material on hand to increase that inventory to 50 or 60 weapons if it chooses to.  It has had the capability to put those warheads on missiles for some time but now has a dramatically enhanced ability to actually strike first against the United States. Not only can its new missile reach D.C., but because it is solid-fueled it can be readied and launched in a fraction of the time of older, liquid-fueled missiles. That means we may well have little or no warning of an impending strike.

How far Russia will go in furthering North Korean capabilities remains unclear. The Atlantic Council has suggested the Russians will extend their assistance into the development of nuclear submarines. North Korea launched a new ballistic missile submarine, the Hero Kim Kun Ok, on September 6, 2023, at the Sinpo South Shipyard with Kim Jong-un in attendance.

This submarine is diesel-powered and assessed to be capable of carrying nuclear-armed missiles. It is also, fortunately for us, relatively noisy and easy to detect. With Russian assistance, the next step for North Korea may be the building of much quieter, stealthier nuclear submarines armed with nuclear weapons.

We had a chance to push the Russia-Ukraine war onto an off-ramp and negotiate an end to hostilities. With the same lack of forethought that has become characteristic of our national security policy in recent years, we chose not to. We shoved Putin’s back against the wall and left him no choice but to begin to take desperate measures.

We are now paying the price for our arrogance. Russia has given North Korea a missile capable of hitting Washington, D.C., and starting a nuclear war.