North Korea fires 2 missiles

Hyung-jin Kim and Kim Tong-hyung, The Associated Press

Posted Sunday February 19, 2023 8:09 PM EST

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles and artillery shells at its eastern waters on Monday, escalating hostilities over US-South Korean military exercises it regards as an invasion rehearsal.

The gunfire follows Saturday’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile and North Korea’s threats to launch an unprecedented strong response to the drills. A new test run also allows North Korea to expand its arsenals amid stalled talks with its rivals, eventually using the increased military capabilities as a bargaining chip to wring greater concessions from the United States.

South Korea spotted the two missile launches from a western coastal city north of the North Korean capital Pyongyang on Monday morning, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

It said South Korea had stepped up its surveillance stance and was maintaining a readiness in close coordination with the United States.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said both missiles landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. It said Japan had condemned the launches as a threat to the peace and security of Japan and international society.

The Japanese Defense Ministry said the first missile reached a maximum altitude of 100 kilometers (62 miles) and flew up to 400 kilometers (250 miles). The second rocket reached an altitude of about 50 kilometers (30 miles) and flew a distance of 350 kilometers (217 miles).

Also on Monday morning, North Korea’s long-range artillery units on its west coast fired two shots across the country toward eastern waters in response to what state media on Sunday described as US-South Korean air exercises, according to the official North Korean Headquarters news agency. KCNA said the North Korean artillery shells simulated hitting 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 intended for use on the battlefield. Some experts considered the weapon system to be a short-range ballistic missile.

“The frequency with which we use the Pacific as a firing range depends on the action nature of US forces,” Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement distributed by state media. “We are aware that the movement of strategic strikes by US forces around the Korean Peninsula has become lively lately.”

She called the United States “the worst of the lunatics” and threatened to take unspecified “appropriate countermeasures” in response to future moves by the US military.

It could refer to Sunday’s US overflight of long-range B-1B supersonic bombers for separate training with South Korea and Japan. The B-1B deployment came in response to North Korea’s launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM off its east coast on Saturday as part of the country’s first missile test since Jan. 1.

North Korea is extremely sensitive to the use of B-1B bombers, which can carry a huge payload of conventional weapons.

North Korea’s state media said Sunday the ICBM test was intended to further bolster its “lethal” nuclear attack capability and to test the weapon’s reliability and the combat readiness of the country’s nuclear forces. In her earlier statement on Sunday, Kim Yo Jong threatened to take further forceful steps over the upcoming military drills between the United States and South Korea.

North Korea has staunchly criticized regular military drills between South Korea and the US as drills for a northward invasion, though allies say their drills are defensive in nature. Some observers say North Korea often uses its rivals’ drills as an excuse to refine and perfect its weapon systems.

The South Korean and US military plan to hold a tabletop exercise this week to refine a joint response to North Korea’s possible use of nuclear weapons. The allies will also conduct another joint computer-simulated exercise and field training in March.

Last year, North Korea set an annual record by launching more than 70 missiles. North Korea said many of those weapons tests were a warning of previous military exercises between the US and South Korea. It also passed legislation allowing it to use nuclear weapons preemptively in a variety of scenarios.

Kim Jong Un entered 2023 with calls for an “exponential increase” in the country’s nuclear warheads, the mass production of tactical battlefield nuclear weapons targeting South Korea, and the development of more advanced ICBMs targeting the US

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Associated Press Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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