Last year, Pyongyang tested more rockets and cruise missiles than ever before. In 2016 and 2017 there were more than 20 each, the previous year more than double the two years and five times more than in 2021. On Monday, the North Korean army again fired two ballistic missiles from the east to the Pacific . off, previously only on Saturday a long-range missile. At the same time, joint maneuvers by South Korea and the US took place or are taking place, in which a nuclear conflict is also a strategic issue.
South Korea and Japan confirmed the test of a long-range missile on Saturday. According to the South Korean general staff and reports by the Yonhap news agency, it was a long-range ballistic missile that was launched near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang and landed after about 900 kilometers in the Pacific – according to Japan. , in waters that Tokyo counts as part of its exclusive economic zone.
Missiles with a range of over 10,000 kilometers
Shortly thereafter, North Korea spoke of a short-term scheduled exercise in which the operational readiness of its own ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) had been successfully verified.
APA/AFP/Kcna Via Kn long-range missiles could theoretically reach the American continent
The Hwasongpho-15 missile has a range of over 10,000 kilometers and could theoretically reach the American continent. ICBMs are the primary delivery vehicle for nuclear weapons. According to UN regulations, North Korea is banned from testing, but Pyongyang is not complying with this ban.
Less than 48 hours after the ICBM test, two short-range missiles hit the Sea of Japan (Korean: East Sea) again on Monday. According to information from South Korea, they were fired in the Sukchon area of South Pyongan province, and the Japanese coast guard raised the alarm. As before, South Korea spoke of a “serious provocation” after Saturday’s test.
Response to US and South Korean maneuvers
North Korea released a statement shortly afterwards saying its forces fired “two rounds from 600mm multiple rocket launchers” at targets 395 and 347 kilometers away at sea. Short-range ballistic missiles can carry tactical nuclear warheads.
AP/KRT latest test saw short-range ballistic missiles fired into Sea of Japan on Monday
Pyongyang said the North Korean military carried out the maneuver on Monday in response to joint US-South Korean exercises. North Korea has blamed the two countries for the deteriorating security situation in the region, according to the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim’s sister declares Pacific a ‘firing range’
This time, Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, also spoke out in a press release of her own, published by KCNA. She warned of an increased US military presence in the region, saying it would determine how often North Korea “would use the Pacific as our firing range”. Kim Yo Jong is director of the Ministry of Propaganda and a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Workers’ Party of North Korea.
AP/Pool Photo/Jorge Silva Kim Yo Jong, responsible for his brother Kim Jong Un’s propaganda
The United States and South Korea are conducting joint maneuvers in which a US strategic bomber is said to be involved on Sunday. It is said to have been about the simulated reaction to the North Korean use of nuclear weapons. Pyongyang, for its part, has previously said the long-range Hwasong-15 missile has demonstrated the capability of a “deadly nuclear counterattack”. In March, the US and South Korea hold the annual joint Freedom Shield maneuvers.
Tensions are heading to a new high
Tensions on the Korean peninsula would increase and reach a new peak in the coming months, according to Yang Moo Jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, South Korea. The frequency of military activities will increase, Kim Yo Jong’s statements would also indicate more frequent missile tests. Hong Min of the Korean Institute for National Unification (KINU) expects more frequent tests of long-range missiles in the Pacific. In previous missile tests, Kim Jong Un appeared with his daughter Kim Ju Ae, who is considered his possible “heir to the throne”.
AP/Korea News Service Kim Jong Un with daughter Kim Ju Ae at a testing ground
Internationally, but especially in neighboring countries, Pyongyang’s military activities are sounding alarm bells, but the protests are failing to impress the regime, which is largely isolated internationally. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the weekend’s ICBM test and urged North Korea “to refrain from further provocations immediately”.
Kim’s motto: “The most powerful nuclear energy in the world”
Japan convened a special session of the UN Security Council. Similar words came from South Korea. The US Army Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) spoke of a “destabilizing effect” on the North Korean weapons program in general. In November, ruling Kim issued the slogan to make economically weak North Korea, which is repeatedly struggling with food shortages, the “strongest nuclear power in the world”.