North Korea’s Weapons Programme Defies COVID Outbreak, Reaches ‘Uncharted Territory’

The United States and its allies in South Korea and Japan have since turned to displays of military force, including joint drills and deployments of U.S. aircraft carriers and long-range bombers, in a so-far futile effort to deter Pyongyang's testing. North Korea's missile tests have allowed it to refine and in some cases operationally deploy new capabilities that enable the rapid and first use of nuclear weapons in the event of both conventional and nuclear attacks, said Duyeon Kim, of the U.S.-based Center for a New American Security.

"Tactical nuclear weapons are dangerous because they can start a war whether it’s by miscalculation, retaliation, or preemption, and the threshold for nuclear-weapons use would be even lower," she said.

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