North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Sunday, Seoul’s military said, days after a US aircraft carrier arrived for joint exercises with the South in a show of force against Pyongyang.
With talks long stalled, nuclear-armed North Korea has doubled down on its banned weapons programs, even amending its rules earlier this month to declare itself a “non-nuclear-weapon”. “Return” nuclear power.
Sunday’s launch is the latest in a record-breaking flurry of weapons tests by Pyongyang so far this year, including the first full-range launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017.
South of the border, newly hawkish President Yoon Seok-yul, who vowed to get tough with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during the election campaign, has ramped up joint South Korean exercises with the United States, a key security ally. Is.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Seoul’s military “detected a short-range missile fired by North Korea toward the East Sea around Taechon in North Pyongan Province at 6:53 p.m. today.” Is.” The missile flew for about 600 km at an altitude of about 60 km, with a maximum speed of about Mach 5, the JCS added in a statement.
“Our military maintains a posture of full readiness and is closely cooperating with the US by strengthening surveillance and vigilance,” it said.
Japan’s coast guard issued a warning to ships after the launch, and Tokyo Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the missile fell outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
“North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile testing is absolutely inexcusable and its remarkable improvement in missile technology is something we cannot ignore,” Hamada said.
Kamala Harris visit
South Korean President Yoon, who took office in May, has vowed to step up joint military exercises with the United States after years of failed diplomacy with North Korea under his predecessor.
On Friday, the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group ships sank off the southern port city of Busan, part of a push by Seoul and Washington for more US strategic assets operating in the region. Is.
Yun is also scheduled to meet US Vice President Kamala Harris when she visits Seoul this week, following visits by President Joe Biden in May and US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month.
“The timing of this latest test is sandwiched between the arrival of the USS Ronald Reagan this week and VP Harris’ visit to Seoul next week,” said Soo Kim, an analyst at the RAND Corporation.
