North Korea Fires 3 More Missiles Toward Japan, Including an ICBM
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South Korea’s SEOUL The South Korean and Japanese governments reported that North Korea launched three additional missiles on Thursday, including what they believe to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, as tensions remained high a day after it set a milestone by launching at least 23 missiles in one day.
The government activated its early warning system and advised citizens in the northern prefectures of Miyagi, Yamagata, and Niigata to seek shelter inside or underground due to fears that one of the missiles would travel over Japan. Later, officials said that the missile vanished over the water and did not fly over Japan.
As the United States and South Korea resume this week’s extensive joint military exercises, North Korea has increased its nuclear testing and vehement rhetoric. The North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is thought to have conducted the tests in a bid to strengthen his government’s nuclear weapons, put pressure on the United States to relieve economic sanctions, and obtain recognition as a nuclear power internationally.
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, the suspected long-range ballistic missile was launched toward the ocean at 7:40 a.m. (or 6:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday) from the Sunan neighbourhood in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. An hour later, South Pyongan province’s Gaechon area in North Korea fired two alleged short-range ballistic missiles toward the ocean.
The State Department denounced North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in a statement issued late Wednesday evening (Washington time), describing it as a flagrant breach of numerous Security Council resolutions. The resolutions, which are “designed to prevent (North Korea) from getting the technologies and materials needed to carry out these destabilising tests,” must be fully implemented by all nations, according to the statement.
It stated that American commitments to Japan’s and South Korea’s defence remained “ironclad.”
In tight collaboration with the United States, the South Korean military claimed to have stepped up surveillance and monitoring while also keeping its forces ready for any eventuality.
One of the missiles, according to Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, went 466 miles and landed in waters west of Japan after reaching an altitude of 1,242 miles. He speculated that it might have been a mid- to long-range missile.
Similar data was provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, who claimed that the missile travelled 472 miles at a speed of around Mach 5 and at an altitude of 1,193 miles.
In March, North Korea conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile test since 2017. The nation is reportedly getting ready for its seventh nuclear test, which would also be the first since 2017.
In its longest-ever weapon test at the beginning of last month, North Korea launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan. The nuclear-capable missile has a range that allows it to approach Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific.
When South Korea launched three of its own air-to-surface missiles in retaliation to North Korea’s onslaught on Wednesday, tensions had already soared. The two nations’ missiles crossed their disputed maritime border but did not touch down on one other’s actual territory.
A national time of mourning has been declared in South Korea following the Halloween crowd crush in Seoul that left 156 people dead. The negligence of the police to stop the disaster has drawn criticism for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration.
The North’s missile launches not only advance its military capabilities but also advance its political objectives, according to Leif-Eric Easley, an associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
He explained via email that Pyongyang saw the Yoon administration’s unpopularity as a chance to pressure South Koreans into opposing security cooperation with the United States. Meanwhile, firing over Japan may be seen as a threat to withdraw from the Korean Peninsula’s security.