North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Sunday, the most recent of a recent barrage of weapons tests, a day after it warned the redeployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier near the Korean Peninsula was inflaming regional tensions.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in an announcement that it detected two missile launches Sunday between 1:48 a.m. and 1:58 a.m. from the North’s eastern coastal city of Munchon. It added that South Korea’s military has boosted its surveillance posture and maintains a readiness in close coordination with the USA.
Japanese Vice Defense Minister Toshiro Ino also confirmed the launches, saying Pyongyang’s testing activities are “absolutely unacceptable” as they threaten regional and international peace and security.
Ino said the weapons could possibly be submarine-launched ballistic missiles. “We’re continuing to investigate details of the missiles, including a possibility that they might need been launched from the ocean,” Ino said.
North Korea’s pursuit of the flexibility to fireplace missiles from a submarine would constitute an alarming development for its rivals since it’s harder to detect such launches prematurely. North Korea was believed to have last tested a missile launch from a submarine in May.
The South Korean and Japanese militaries assessed that the missiles flew about 350 kilometers (217 miles) and reached maximum altitudes of 90 to 100 kilometers (56 to 60 miles) before falling into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida individually instructed officials to assemble and analyze all information they may and expedite any updates in regards to the tests to the general public. His office said it also was searching for to make sure the security of all aircraft and ships in waters around Japan while preparing for any contingencies.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in an announcement that the launches didn’t pose any immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to its allies. However it said the launches highlight “the destabilizing impact” of North Korea’s illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. It said U.S. commitments to the defense of South Korea and Japan remain “ironclad.”
The launch, the North’s seventh round of weapons tests in two weeks, got here hours after the USA and South Korea wrapped up two days of naval drills off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast.
The drills involved the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group, which returned to the world after North Korea fired a strong missile over Japan last week to protest the carrier group’s previous training with South Korea.
On Saturday, North Korea’s Defense Ministry warned that Reagan’s redeployment was causing a “considerably huge negative splash” in regional security. The ministry called its recent missile tests a “righteous response” to intimidating military drills between South Korea and the USA.
North Korea regards U.S.-South Korean military exercises as an invasion rehearsal and is particularly sensitive if such drills involve U.S. strategic assets reminiscent of an aircraft carrier. North Korea has argued it was forced to pursue a nuclear weapons program to address U.S. nuclear threats. U.S. and South Korean officials have repeatedly said they don’t have any intentions of attacking the North.
North Korea has launched greater than 40 ballistic and cruise missiles in over 20 different events this 12 months, exploiting a division within the U.N. Security Council deepened over Russia’s war on Ukraine as a window to hurry up arms development.
The record variety of tests included last week’s launch of a nuclear-capable missile that flew over Japan for the primary time in five years. It was estimated to have traveled about 4,500-4,600 kilometers (2,800-2,860 miles), a distance sufficient to succeed in the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam and beyond.
South Korean officials say Pyongyang may up the ante soon by conducting an intercontinental ballistic missile or a nuclear test explosion, following a conventional pattern of producing diplomatic crises with weapons tests and threats before offering negotiations aimed toward extracting concessions. There are also concerns about provocations along the Koreas’ land and sea borders.
Sunday’s launches got here on the eve of the 77th anniversary of the muse of the North Korean ruling Employees’ Party.
Earlier this 12 months, North Korea tested other nuclear-capable ballistic missiles that place the U.S. mainland, South Korea and Japan inside striking distance.
North Korea’s testing spree indicates its leader, Kim Jong Un, has no intention of resuming diplomacy with the U.S. and needs to give attention to expanding his weapons arsenal. But some experts say Kim would eventually aim to make use of his advanced nuclear program to wrest greater outside concessions, reminiscent of the popularity of North Korea as a legitimate nuclear state, which Kim thinks is crucial in getting crippling U.N. sanctions lifted.
South Korean officials recently said North Korea was also prepared to check a recent liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile and a submarine-launched ballistic missile while maintaining readiness to perform its first underground nuclear test since 2017.
Watch: Tensions with North Korea worsen
