Report launch event: North Korea's short range systems

17 January 2023

Virtual

On 17 January 2023, FRS organised a webinar to discuss its recently published report on North Korea’s short range ballistic missiles. The authors of the study presented their main findings and Vann van Diepen assessed the contribution of this report to our understanding of North Korea’s military strategy.

North Korea’s recent flurry of missile tests, in particular of short-range missiles, has put the spotlight on its efforts to develop new capabilities in this range and to replace Soviet-inherited weapons with modern and accurate systems.

In particular, the development of the KN-23, the KN-24 and the KN-25 is bound to be significant in Pyongyang’s capabilities and strategy. 

This webinar explored the findings of a new study published by FRS, with a focus on the recently introduced systems. It assessed their potential impact as conventional and non-conventional weapons. Through an analysis of the potential capacities of these systems, the panelists examined their consequences on North Korea’s strategy and explore what it may lead to, in military and political terms, on the Korean peninsula. 

MODERATOR:

  • Emmanuelle Maitre, Research Fellow, FRS

PANELISTS: 

  • Stéphane DELORY, Senior Research Fellow, FRS
  • Christian MAIRE, Associate Fellow, FRS
  • Antoine BONDAZ, Research Fellow, FRS

DISCUSSANT: 

  • Vann VAN DIEPEN, Independent consultant, former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation at the US State Department 
Research Papers

The Hague Code of Conduct and Space

This paper considers the dual approach of the Code by analysing the similarities between launchers and ballistic missiles in light of new technical developments, and assessing the risk of missile technology proliferation. It also assesses the new trends and developments in the space sector that may have an impact on the ability of the HCoC to remain relevant in its efforts to curb the proliferation of ballistic launchers.

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Other publications

Ballistic missile proliferation: what should be the role of a small state?

On 15 January 2019, the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL) and the FRS held a South Asia Regional Seminar “Dealing with the missile threat in South Asia” with the support of the European Union. This explainer on ballistic missile proliferation explains a few key aspects of the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCOC) in relation to small states with special reference to Sri Lanka.

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