South Korea Detects ‘Unusual Increase’ in North Korean Air, Artillery Operations

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said on Friday that North Korea is stepping up readiness activities for its air and artillery units, for no apparent reason.

The activity could indicate Pyongyang is preparing another illegal missile test, or it could be related to the disappearance of dictator Kim Jong-un, believed by some outside observers to be dead or incapacitated.

Speaking at a ceremony for commissioned medical and veterinary officers on Friday, Jeong said North Korea “has been heightening military tensions through an unusual increase in the inspection activities for its combat readiness posture, mostly of its artillery, and in its air force planes’ flight operations.” . . .

This pattern of behavior began too long ago to be interpreted as a sudden tightening of North Korea’s defense posture in response to Kim Jong-un becoming incapacitated, although it is possible the military was generally growing nervous about the corpulent young dictator’s health or about the oncoming coronavirus pandemic. North Korea officially denies having any domestic coronavirus infections to this day, but outsiders give little credit to those denials.

Several South Korean government ministers have stated they do not believe Kim Jong-un is dead or critically ill. One of the few readily available clues to his location is the location of his luxury train, his primary means of travel both within North Korea and internationally. (Read more from “South Korea Detects ‘Unusual Increase’ in North Korean Air, Artillery Operations” HERE)

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