North Korea’s spate of new missile tests, including so-called “hypersonic” weapons, underscore the importance of the country’s missile engineers and scientists, who are well-known within the government but opaque to outsiders.

Analysts say Kim appears to be taking steps to institutionalize the missile force, a sign that he may intend to make the missile force a long-term operational part of his military plan.
Little is known about the names and titles of mid-level and working-level scientific and technical personnel involved in missile development.

Analysts say these individuals appear to have guaranteed job security because of the resources and effort expended to educate and train them, and they are sequestered to special districts so they are neither a defection risk nor a political or social nuisance to the regime.

“Unlike economic cadres or even military commanders, this is a population that cannot be easily replaced,” said Michael Madden, an expert on North Korea leadership at the Stimson Center in Washington. Many of them attended training at Kim Jong-un’s National Defense University, which reportedly added an academy focused on “hypersonic missile technology” to the base of North Korea’s defense-related science and technology experts.

Scientists and engineers are often divided into competing teams designing similar types of weapons, allowing them to take multiple routes to see which technology holds the most promise, said Ken Gause, director of international affairs at the nonprofit research organization CNA. . and Analytics is located in Arlington, Virginia.

A 2018 study by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) found that North Korean scientists collaborated with researchers in other countries to co-author at least 100 published articles on dual-use technologies, mass destruction weapons or other military purposes. Kim Jong-un is relying on the North Korean-missile-trio-three top figures to exclusively lead the secretive country’s rapidly accelerating missile program.

They include Lee Ping-chul, a former senior Air Force general; Kim Jong-sik, a veteran rocket scientist; and Zhang Changhe, the head of the weapons development and procurement center.

A fourth official — Chief of Staff Park Jong-chuan — also holds a higher-profile role in the Ministry of Military Industry (MID), which is responsible for strategic weapons production, Goss said.

“We’ve seen a lot of changes in the military industry over the past few years,” Goss said.

In the absence of Kim Jong-un participating in any missile launches in 2021, Park oversaw many of the recent tests before observing a hypersonic missile launch in January.

Last year also saw Yu Jim be appointed head of MID. Madden said Yu was previously a representative of North Korea’s main national arms dealer in Iran.

Complete News Source : Hindustan Times