North Korea: Strike on secret military base near border with China may anger Beijing

North Korea has continued testing its weapons despite the international backlash. With the discovery of the isolated nation’s secret missile operating base, any strike on the base may risk backlash from China.

Seoul-based journalist Frank Smith explained to TRT World what it means for a US think-tank to discover North Korea’s secret military base meant to store its missiles. Smith explained that while discovering such a base in North Korea may not be new, the scope of the discovery is new. Smith said that any kind of strike on the base in North Korea may risk offending Beijing.

“This isn’t the first such base that’s been discovered inside North Korea but what is kind of new about this is the scope of it,” said Smith. “A large complex capable of holding a regiment and also its location, as you mentioned, just 25 kilometers from China. That would make some type of a preemptive strike on this site very, very risky and likely to offend North Korea’s ally in Beijing.”

This follows last week’s reports that a US-based think-tank has discovered a secret military base close to the border North Korea shares with China. The base is likely going to be where the country’s missiles, including its intercontinental ballistic missiles, would be stored. North Korea also boasted last week of being one of the very few countries to field nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles while also being one of the few countries standing up to the US.

Meanwhile, according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is still in touch with former US President Donald Trump. Haberman made the revelation in her upcoming book about the former president, “Confidence Man.” Trump famously said back in 2018 that he had a good personal relationship with Kim.

Despite the declarations of having a good relationship, talks between Trump and Kim during a summit in Hanoi failed to achieve an agreement on North Korea’s nuclear program.

“What he says and what’s actually happening are not always in concert, but he has been telling people that he has maintained some kind of a correspondence or discussion with Kim Jong-un,” said Haberman.