North Korea fires ballistic missile off East Coast ahead of South Korea takeover

A North Korean flag flies atop a 160-meter tower in the North Korean propaganda village of Gijungdong, in this image taken from the Tae Sung freedom village near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, South Korea, April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File photo

SEOUL, May 4 (Reuters) – North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast on Wednesday, South Korea and Japan said, about a week after Pyongyang vowed to develop its nuclear forces “at the fastest speed possible.” possible”.

The launch, which marks North Korea’s 14th known weapons test this year, comes days before newly elected South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is due to take office on May 10. The last test of it was on April 16 and involved a new tactical guided weapon intended to boost the country’s nuclear capabilities. read more

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it had detected the launch around noon in the Sunan area of ​​Pyongyang, where an international airport is located and from where North Korea said it fired its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). ), the Hwasong-17. , on March 24. Read more

The missile flew some 470 km (292 miles) to a maximum altitude of 780 km (485 miles), the JCS said.

“A recent series of ballistic missile launches by North Korea poses a serious threat to peace and stability not only of the Korean peninsula but also of the international community,” the JCS said in a statement, urging the North to stop such actions immediately.

The Japan Coast Guard also reported a suspected launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea. Tokyo Deputy Defense Minister Makoto Oniki put the missile’s range at 500 km (311 mi) and its maximum altitude at 800 km (497 mi). He said the ministry was still analyzing the data to determine what type of missile it was.

“North Korea’s recent action, including frequent missile launches, cannot be tolerated as it poses a threat to the security of the region and the international community,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. He added that his country had registered a protest against North Korea. Korea.

Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to speed up the development of his country’s nuclear arsenal as he oversaw a grand military parade as denuclearization talks with the United States remain stalled. read more

Officials and experts say it is too early to determine whether the latest test involved an ICBM.

In its March 24 test, the North’s first full-capability launch since 2017, a missile flew 1,080 km at an altitude of 6,200 km, with a flight time of 71 minutes, the JCS said.

“It could be an ICBM or something with a shorter range,” Lee Jong-sup, incoming President Yoon’s nominee for defense minister, said at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

The latest release came as Yoon is charting his foreign policy agenda after signaling a hard line against Pyongyang. read more

Lee, a retired military commander who served as vice chairman of the JCS, told the hearing that he would bolster South Korea’s deterrence capability to respond “severely” to the North’s nuclear and missile threats.

Pyongyang has recently stepped up weapons tests, resuming long-range missile launches for the first time since 2017 in March. Officials in Seoul and Washington say it may also be preparing for a new round of nuclear tests.

Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi and Hyonhee Shin; Additional reporting by Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo; Edited by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Gerry Doyle

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