SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In its second weapons test in three days, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Monday, reigniting regional animosities over U.S. military drills. South Koreans which she considers a rehearsal of an invasion.
The weapons fire follows the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday and North Korea’s threats to make an unprecedented response to the drills. A new round of tests also allows North Korea to expand its arsenals amid stalled talks with rivals and possibly use the boosted military capacity as leverage in an attempt to wrest greater concessions from the United States. United.
South Korea detected the two missile launches from a western coastal town just north of North Korea’s capital Pyongyang on Monday morning, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. communicated.
He said South Korea has strengthened its monitoring posture and remains ready in close coordination with the United States.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said the two missiles landed in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. He said Japan condemns the launches as a threat to the peace and security of Japan and international society.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said the first missile reached the maximum altitude of 100 kilometers (62 miles) and flew up to 400 kilometers (250 miles). He said the second missile reached about 50 kilometers (30 miles) in altitude and traveled a distance of 350 kilometers (217 miles).
North Korean state media said its long-range artillery units on its west coast fired two rounds across the country towards eastern waters on Monday morning, possibly referring to the same activity as its neighbors. qualified as missile launches. The official Korean Central News Agency said North Korean artillery fire simulated strikes on targets up to 395 kilometers (245 miles) away.
The North said the launches involved its new 600 millimeter multiple rocket launcher system which could be armed with “tactical” nuclear weapons for use on the battlefield. Some experts considered the weapon system to be a short-range ballistic missile.
“The frequency of using the Pacific as a firing range depends on the action character of US forces,” Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement carried by state media. State. “We are well aware of the movement of US forces’ strategic strike assets that have recently become rapid around the Korean Peninsula.”
Calling the United States “the worst maniacs”, she threatened to take an unspecified “corresponding countermeasure” in response to future actions by the US military.
She could be referring to the U.S. flyby of the B-1B supersonic long-range bombers on Sunday for separate training with South Korea and Japan. The B-1B’s deployment came in response to North Korea’s launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM off its east coast on Saturday in the country’s first missile test since Jan. 1.
North Korea is extremely sensitive to the deployment of B-1B bombers, which can carry a huge payload of conventional weapons.
North Korean state media said on Sunday that the ICBM test was intended to further boost its “lethal” nuclear attack capability and verify the weapon’s reliability and the combat readiness of the country’s nuclear force. In his earlier statement on Sunday, Kim Yo Jong threatened to take strong additional measures regarding the upcoming military exercises between the United States and South Korea.
North Korea has strongly criticized regular South Korean-American military drills as practice for a northward invasion, though allies say their drills are defensive in nature. Some observers say North Korea often uses its rivals’ drills as a pretext to refine and perfect its weapons systems.
The South Korean and U.S. militaries plan to hold a tabletop exercise this week to fine-tune a joint response to a potential use of nuclear weapons by North Korea. The allies are also to conduct another joint computer-simulated exercise and field training in March.
North Korea has claimed to have missiles capable of hitting both the American mainland and South Korea with nuclear weapons, but many foreign experts have said that North Korea still has some key technologies to master, such as the reduction of warheads small enough to be mounted on missiles. and ensure that these warheads survive atmospheric re-entry.
In his statement on Monday, Kim Yo Jong reaffirmed that North Korea has the reentry vehicle technology. She also hit back at South Korean experts who questioned whether North Korean ICBMs would be functional in real war situations.
Kim Yo Jong insisted that the nine hours of preparation for the launch after his brother Kim Jong Un ordered it included efforts to seal off the launch site and evacuate people and was not long due to shortcomings of the missile system itself.
Last year, North Korea set an annual record with the launch of more than 70 missiles. North Korea said many of the weapons tests were a wake-up call to previous U.S.-South Korean military drills. It also passed a law that allows it to use nuclear weapons preemptively in a wide range of scenarios.
Kim Jong Un entered 2023 with a call for an “exponential increase” in the country’s nuclear warheads, mass production of tactical battlefield nuclear weapons targeting South Korea and development of more advanced ICBMs targeting the United States.
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