The South Korean military announced that North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday, just one week after its leader Kim Jong Un called for an expansion and enhancement of the isolated communist state’s nuclear arsenal.
Since the beginning of the year, Pyongyang has conducted 14 weapons tests, including the first launch of an ICBM since 2017.
“We detected a ballistic missile launched by North Korea at 12:03 (0:03 GMT) from the Sunan region” on the outskirts of Pyongyang towards the Sea of Japan, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The military authority said that the missile covered a distance of 470 km and reached a maximum altitude of 780 km, and denounced the “blatant violation of UN Security Council resolutions”.
Japanese Defense Minister Makoto Oniki confirmed the launch and trajectory. He denounced that “the repeated launches of ballistic missiles threaten the security and safety of the homeland, the region and the international community.”
Despite international sanctions on its nuclear and weapons program, North Korea has announced that it intends to modernize its arsenal and has recently tested several banned projectiles.
The country also resumed an intercontinental missile program that, along with its nuclear weapons program, remained stagnant during the attempt to negotiate with former US President Donald Trump, which failed in 2019 and has since stalled.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned Saturday that he may “preventively” use his country’s arsenal, which includes nuclear weapons, to counter threatening actions by hostile nations.
During a military parade last week, Kim defended the need to build up a “nuclear force as quickly as possible.”
“The nuclear forces, the symbol of our national strength and the axis of military power, must be strengthened in terms of quality and scope,” he explained, according to state media.
“There is a good chance that they will launch a missile that could be equipped with an atomic warhead,” said Ahn Chan-il, a professor of North Korean studies.
South Korea
The test took place a few days before the inauguration of South Korea’s president-elect, Yoon Seok-yeol, next Tuesday (10), who promised a more assertive stance against North Korea and even mentioned the possibility of a preemptive strike against Pyongyang. .
“This may be a warning message to Yoon,” said Hong Ming of the Korea Institute for National Unity.
The president-elect has said he will participate in peace talks if Pyongyang affirms its desire for denuclearization, something North Korea will never accept, Hong-min explains.
“It could also indicate Pyongyang’s position that it has no alternative to improving its arsenal if Seoul and Washington decide to mobilize strategic military assets in the south,” he added.
For five years, outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in tried to close relations with North Korea, and managed to organize two meetings between Kim and Trump, while curtailing military exercises with the United States, which the North Korean regime considered a provocation. .
But his successor Yun says the “humiliation” strategy is wrong. He calls for the installation of more US air defense systems – including tactical nuclear weapons – and more military exercises.
Soon after taking office, in May, Yoon will receive a visit in Seoul from US President Joe Biden.
Other analysts link the large number of tests to the current paralysis of the United Nations Security Council, where tensions between Russia and the United States over Ukraine make it “virtually impossible” for them to pass new sanctions against Pyongyang.
“North Korea will therefore try to test as many missiles as possible, which it has not yet been able to launch, to very quickly improve the capabilities of its arsenal,” said Cheong Seong-chang of the Center for North Korea Studies. From Sejong Institute.
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