On October 12, 2021, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reviewed a rare exhibition of nuclear and conventional weapons, an armament exhibition meant to celebrate the 76th birthday of the ruling Workers’ Party. While most of the attention has been drawn to nuclear-tipped missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), recent North Korean military modernization has not been limited to nuclear and strategic weapons alone. From surface-to-air missiles (SAM) to long-range artillery and tactical ballistic missiles, the hermit kingdom has also made remarkable progress in conventional armaments. Additionally, Pyongyang has been working hard to join the hypersonic weapon club currently dominated by Russia, China, and the United States. Thus, instead of seeing North Korea as purely a nuclear threat, the United States government and its allies need to adopt a more holistic approach to flexibly respond to both nuclear and conventional challenges presented by Pyongyang.
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