© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A North Korean flag flies at the North Korean propaganda village of Gijungdong, in this photo taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. REUTERS/
By Soo Hyang Choi
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea fired two more ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday as leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister warned U.S. forces to halt military exercises, saying the reclusive nuclear state could turn the Peaceful in a “shooting range”. “.
The launches come just two days after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the sea off the west coast of Japan, prompting the United States to conduct joint air exercises with South Korea and separate with Japan on Sunday.
North Korean state media confirmed that it fired two projectiles from a multiple rocket launcher, targeting targets 395 km (245 miles) and 337 km (209 miles) away, respectively.
“The 600mm multiple rocket launcher mobilized in the firing… is a means of tactical nuclear weapon,” capable of “crippling” an enemy airfield, the state news agency KCNA said.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said the two missiles, fired around 2200 GMT, reached a maximum altitude of about 100 km and 50 km, and fell outside Japan’s EEZ.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles flew 390 km and 340 km and strongly condemned the launches as a “serious provocation” that must stop immediately.
“We will maintain a strong preparedness posture based on security cooperation with the United States and Japan and our ability to overwhelmingly respond to any North Korean provocation,” he said in a statement.
Seoul’s foreign ministry on Monday announced sanctions on four people and five entities linked to Pyongyang’s weapons programs, including a South African national and two Singaporean shipping companies.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said the latest launch does not pose an immediate threat, but highlights the “destabilizing impact” of the isolated country’s illegal weapons programs.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric urged Pyongyang to “immediately desist from further provocative actions” prohibited by Security Council resolutions and resume talks on denuclearization.
RISING TENSIONS
North Korean leader Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, warned against an increased presence of US strategic assets following joint air drills with their Asian allies over the weekend.
“The frequency of using the Pacific as our firing range depends on the character of action of US forces,” he said in a statement carried by KCNA.
Analysts say tensions are likely to rise as South Korea and the United States are set to hold simulated tabletop nuclear exercises aimed at improving operations of US nuclear assets this week and the annual spring Freedom Shield field training in March.
“Tension on the peninsula is likely to peak in the coming months, as North Korea is accelerating its military actions more frequently, and its statement indicates that it will continue impromptu missile tests using the Pacific as a firing range.” shot,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Women’s University in Seoul, said the missile launch and Monday’s statement were in line with the recent threat by North Korea’s foreign ministry to take “unprecedentedly strong and persistent” responses. “to the joint military exercises of the allies.
“North Korea appears to be trying to bolster its nuclear capability by raising questions about the drills, and Kim Yo Jong’s statement indicates that there would be additional provocations,” Park said.
Monday’s missile launch is North Korea’s third known weapons test this year after it fired an unprecedented number of missiles last year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking anywhere in the United States.
Kim Yo Jong also criticized some South Korean experts’ assessment of its missile capabilities that it took more than nine hours for the “sudden” launch of the missile following an order from leader Kim, saying South Korea did not even fly planes. of recognition at the time of its release.
“We have possessed satisfactory technology and capability and now we will focus on increasing the size of their force,” he said. “We affirm once again that there is no change in our willingness to make the worst maniacs who escalate tensions pay the price for their action.”