A TV screen showing a news program reporting on North Korea’s missile launch with file images, is seen at Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday.
Lee Jin-man / AP
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Lee Jin-man / AP
A TV screen showing a news program reporting on North Korea’s missile launch with file images, is seen at Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday.
Lee Jin-man / AP
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Saturday, neighbors said, a fourth launch this week prompting condemnation from opponents.
In an unusually strong criticism of North Korea’s weapons programs, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said North Korea’s “obsession” with nuclear weapons was deepening its own pain. Koreans, and warned of a “strong response” from the South Korean and American militaries. Such weapons are used.
Yoon said during the Armed Forces Day ceremony at the military headquarters in central South Korea: “North Korea has not yet given up its obsession with nuclear weapons and missiles despite persistent international opposition in the past 30 years. “The development of nuclear weapons will make the lives of the North Korean people more painful.”
“If North Korea tries to use nuclear weapons, it will face a resolute, overwhelming response by the South Korea-U.S. alliance and our military,” Yoon said.
Yoon’s comments could anger North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who in July accused Yoon’s government of being led by “confrontation maniacs” and “gangsters”. Kim also turned down Yoon’s massive offer of support in exchange for denuclearization.
The tests are seen as a response to naval exercises between South Korea, the US and Japan
North Korea’s test this week is seen as a response to recent naval exercises between South Korea and the United States and their other drills involving Japan. North Korea views such military exercises by its allies as a rehearsal of aggression and says it reveals the “double standards” of the US and South Korea because it views North Korea’s weapons tests as provocative action.
On Saturday, the militaries of South Korea, Japan and the United States said they had detected two missile launches by North Korea. South Korea said the lift occurred from the North Korean capital area.
According to South Korean and Japanese estimates, the missile flew about 350-400 kilometers (220-250 miles) at a maximum altitude of 30-50 kilometers (20-30 miles) before landing in the waters between the peninsula Korea and Japan. Toshiro Ino, Japan’s deputy defense minister, said the missile had an “unusual” trajectory.
Some observers have suggested that the weapons’ low and “unusual” trajectories suggest they are likely nuclear, highly maneuverable missiles modeled on the Russian Iskander missile. They say North Korea has developed an Iskander-like weapon to defeat South Korean and American missile defense systems and strike key targets in South Korea, including its military bases. America is there.
Five other ballistic missiles fired by North Korea three times this week showed trajectories similar to those detected on Saturday.
“North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile launches are a serious provocation that undermines peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the future,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. international community”.
Ino called the launches “absolutely unacceptable”, adding that North Korea’s four missile tests in a week were “unprecedented”.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said the launches highlight the “destabilizing impact” of North Korea’s illicit weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.
On Friday, South Korea, the United States and Japan held for the first time trilateral anti-submarine exercises for five years off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. Earlier this week, South Korean and American warships conducted bilateral exercises in the area for four days. Both exercises this week involved the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.
North Korea’s missile tests this week also made the US Vice President suffer Kamala Harris ‘visited Korea on Thursdaywhere she reaffirmed the “iron” commitment of the United States to the security of its Asian allies.
Worries about North Korea’s nuclear program have been growing since last month passed a new law authorize the pre-use of nuclear weapons in certain situations, a move that underscores the country’s escalating nuclear doctrine.
In a speech on Saturday, Yoon said North Korean law threatens South Korea’s national existence, and Seoul will expand military exercises with Washington and strengthen its missile surveillance and strike capabilities. Korea’s own in response.
South Korean officials often avoid harsh words about North Korea to prevent an escalation of hatred. But Yoon’s Ministry of Defense recently North Korea will destroy itself if it uses its nuclear weapons.
This year, North Korea has carried out a record number of missile tests, in what experts call an attempt to expand its arsenal amid stalled nuclear diplomacy with the United States. South Korean and US officials said North Korea had also completed preparations for a nuclear test, which would be the seventh nuclear test of its kind and the first in five years.
Experts say Kim Jong Un ultimately wants to use his expanding nuclear arsenal to pressure the United States and others into accepting his country as a legitimate nuclear state, a recognition which he deems necessary to win the lifting of international sanctions and other concessions.
Several UN Security Council resolutions ban North Korea from testing ballistic missiles and nuclear devices. The country’s missile launches this year are seen as exploiting divisions in the UN panel over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the US-China rivalry.
“North Korea’s frequent short-range missile tests can strain the isolated nation’s resources. But given the deadlock in the United Nations Security Council, this is a cost-effective way to do it. Kim expressed dissatisfaction with defense exercises by Washington and Seoul, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
