SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched a ballistic missile into its eastern waters on Wednesday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster his nuclear arsenal “at the fastest pace.” quickly as possible.” and threatened to use them against rivals.
The launch, North Korea’s 14th round of weapons firing this year, also came six days before a new conservative South Korean president. assumes office for a single term of five years.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missile was fired from the North’s capital region and flew into the waters off its east coast. He said the South Korean military is monitoring potential additional weapons launches by North Korea.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said North Korea fired a possible ballistic missile without providing further details. The Japanese Coast Guard urged ships sailing off the Japanese coast to steer clear of any potential fragments.
Japan’s government has set up an emergency task force to deal with the missile launch, noting that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, currently in Rome for talks with Italian officials, has instructed officials to do everything possible in an emergency and protect the safety of people. such as ships and planes around Japan.
Observers say North Korea’s unusually fast pace in weapons tests this year underscores its dual goals of advancing its missile programs and putting pressure on Washington for a deepening freeze in nuclear negotiations. They say Kim eventually intends to use his expanded arsenal to win international recognition of North Korea as a nuclear state which he believes would help force the United States to relax international economic sanctions against the North.
One of the North Korean missiles recently tested was an intercontinental ballistic missile potentially capable of reaching the entirety of the American homeland. That missile launch broke Kim’s 2018 self-imposed moratorium on large arms tests.
There are signs that North Korea is also preparing for a nuclear test at its remote northeastern test facility. If carried out, North Korea’s atomic bomb test explosion would be the seventh of its kind and the first since 2017.
Last week, Kim Jong Un displayed his most powerful nuclear-capable missiles against the United States and its allies during a massive military parade in the capital Pyongyang. During a speech at the parade, Kim said he would develop his arsenal at the “fastest possible pace” and warned that North Korea would use its nuclear weapons preemptively. if their national interests are threatened.
North Korea has previously unleashed harsh rhetoric threatening to attack its rivals with its nuclear weapons. But the fact that Kim made the threat himself and in detail has caused security jitters among some South Koreans. Coupled with North Korea’s recent tests of short-range nuclear-capable missiles, some experts speculate that North Korea’s possibly escalating nuclear doctrine would allow it to launch preemptive nuclear strikes against South Korea in some cases.
Wednesday’s launch came ahead of the May 10 inauguration of South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol, who has vowed to increase Seoul’s missile capacity and cement its military alliance with Washington to better deal with growing nuclear threats from North Korea.
North Korea has a history of stirring up animosity with weapons tests when Seoul and Washington inaugurate new governments in an apparent attempt to increase its influence in future negotiations.
Some experts say the passive handling of North Korea by the Biden administration as it focuses on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. and an intensifying rivalry with China is allowing more room for the North to expand its military capabilities.
The Biden administration’s actions on North Korea have so far been limited to largely symbolic sanctions and offers of open talks. North Korea rejected the administration’s offer of talks, saying it must first abandon its “hostile policy,” in an apparent reference to US-led international sanctions and joint US-South Korea military exercises.
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Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report from Tokyo.
Reference-apnews.com