People watch a news program showing an image file of a North Korean missile launch at Seoul Train Station on Sunday. South Korea accused its neighbor of raising tensions in the region after firing a ballistic missile toward the sea.
Ahn Young-joon / AP
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Ahn Young-joon / AP
People watch a news program showing an image file of a North Korean missile launch at Seoul Train Station on Sunday. South Korea accused its neighbor of raising tensions in the region after firing a ballistic missile toward the sea.
Ahn Young-joon / AP
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday toward the country’s eastern seaboard, extending a string of provocative weapons tests as a US aircraft carrier visits South Korea for joint drills. to counter North Korea’s growing nuclear threat.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile launched from the western inland town of Taechon flew 600 kilometers (370 miles) across the country at a maximum altitude of 60 kilometers (37 miles) before landing in the sea. off the east coast of North Korea.
South Korea’s presidential office said National Security Director Kim Sung-han had convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, where members denounced the launch as a clear violation of resolutions. of the United Nations Security Council and accused North Korea of raising tensions in the region.
US Indo-Pacific Command said the launch did not pose “an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies”, but nevertheless highlighted destabilizing effects of North Korea’s illicit nuclear weapons and missile programs.
The launch took place as the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group arrived in South Korea for joint military exercises by the two countries aimed at demonstrating strength against growing threats. of North Korea.
South Korea’s foreign ministry said its nuclear envoy Kim Gunn held phone calls with Sung Kim, US President Joe Biden’s special representative for North Korea, and Funakoshi Takehiro, the director general in charge of foreign affairs. Asia and Oceania Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, to discuss tripartite cooperation. threat from North Korea.
In a statement, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tokyo was “doing its best” to gather information about the North Korean launch and confirm the safety of ships and aircraft, although there have been no reports. immediate damage.
The threat from North Korea is also expected to be a key agenda item when US Vice President Kamala Harris visits South Korea next week after attending a state funeral in Tokyo after the former Japanese prime minister. Shinzo Abe is killed.
North Korea has ramped up its test activities to a record pace by 2022, testing more than 30 ballistic weapons, including its first intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017. are exploiting divisions in the UN Security Council over Russia’s war with Ukraine to speed up weapons development.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has repeated threats that North Korea will actively use nuclear weapons when threatened, raising security concerns for a conventionally armed adversary. is Korea.
Flight details released by Seoul’s military suggest that North Korea may have tested a nuclear-capable short-range weapon modeled on Russia’s Iskander missile, which flies at a relatively low altitude and is designed designed to be maneuverable in flight, making them harder to intercept. missile defense.
Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said it was remarkable that the rocket flew 600 kilometers (370 miles) from the Taechon launch site – roughly the distance to Busan’s southern port of South Korea, where the Reagan arrived on Friday. .
Iskander-like missiles are part of a growing arsenal of short-range, solid-fuel systems that North Korea has been developing since 2019. North Korea describes some of those weapons as “tactical” “, which experts say the threat will arm them. small battlefield nuclear weapons and actively use them in conflicts to defeat the stronger conventional forces of South Korea and the United States, which are stationed about 28,500 troops in the South.
North Korea has so far rejected calls by the United States and South Korea to return to nuclear diplomacy, which has been stalled since 2019 due to disagreements over the exchange of sanctions relief. The US takes the lead on North Korea and its disarmament steps.
The USS Reagan’s arrival in South Korea comes after Kim told the Pyongyang National Assembly this month that he would never give up the nuclear weapons and missiles he needs to fight what he considers hostile. of America.
Kim’s speech came as North Korean lawmakers passed a law affirming the country’s status as a nuclear power and authorizing the pre-use of nuclear weapons in a range of situations. situations where the country or its leadership is threatened, introducing the nuclear doctrine of escalation.
Speaking to the US and South Korean militaries on Saturday aboard the Reagan, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said the deployment of US strategic assets to the region demonstrates the US’ unwavering commitment to the region. the defense of Korea. He said North Korea would receive a strong response if it tried to use nuclear weapons, according to a statement from his ministry.
Sunday’s test could soon follow a more provocative weapons show as South Korean officials say they have detected signs that North Korea is preparing to test a missile system designed to designed to launch from a submarine. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said on Saturday that he had been briefed on such developments before his flight home from a visit to Canada.
On Wednesday, 38 North, a website focused on North Korea, said its analysis of commercial satellite images showed many barges and other ships gathered at the eastern port of Sinpo, where North Korea has a home. Large shipbuilders build submarines. The report said North Korea may be preparing to launch a new submarine capable of firing ballistic missiles.
North Korea has worked very hard to be able to fire nuclear-armed missiles from submarines. Such weapons would theoretically strengthen North Korea’s deterrence by ensuring retaliation after suffering a land-based nuclear attack.
Ballistic missile submarines would also pose a new maritime threat to North Korea’s growing collection of solid-fuel weapons fired from land vehicles, which are being developed with purpose. clearly overwhelm the missile defense systems in South Korea and Japan.
However, experts say the heavily sanctioned nation will need more time, resources and major technological improvements to build at least some submarines that can navigate the high seas. and execute attacks reliably.
