North Korea fires volley of missiles, South calls it a ‘test’ of new government

SEOUL, June 5 (Reuters) – North Korea fired eight short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Sunday, likely its biggest single test, a day after South Korea and the United States ended joint military exercises.

The bilateral exercises involved a US aircraft carrier for the first time in more than four years.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said at least eight missiles were fired from the Sunan area in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and flow between 110 km and 600 km (70-370 miles) at altitudes between 25 km and 90 km.

In response, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called a meeting of the National Security Council and ordered “further deterrence from South Korea and the United States and continued reinforcement of the united defense posture.”

The NSC meeting concluded that the missile launch was North Korea’s “test and challenge” of the security readiness of South Korea’s new administration, which took office last month, the president’s office said in a statement. a press release.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Kim Gunn, its Special Representative for Peace and Security Affairs on the Korean Peninsula, discussed the provocation with US Special Representative Sung Kim, the US point man. in North Korean affairs. Kim Gunn also held a conference call with his Japanese counterpart Funakoshi Takehiro.

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said the North had launched multiple missiles and the act “cannot be tolerated.” He told a briefing that at least one missile had a variable trajectory, indicating it could maneuver to evade missile defenses.

The US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that North Korea’s multiple ballistic missile launches highlighted the destabilizing impact of its illicit weapons program, but that the event did not pose an immediate threat.

Michael Duitsman of the US-based James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) said it appeared to be the largest single test ever conducted by North Korea. A large number of missiles also suggests a military exercise or show of force, rather than a test of new technology.

The launch also followed a visit to Seoul by Sung Kim, who departed on Saturday.

He met with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts on Friday to prepare for “all contingencies” amid signs that North Korea was preparing to conduct a nuclear test for the first time since 2017. Read More

MORE SANCTIONS

Washington has made it very clear directly to Pyongyang that it is open to diplomacy, Kim said during the visit, noting that he was willing to discuss issues of interest to Pyongyang, such as sanctions relief.

Last week, the United States called for more UN sanctions against North Korea over its ballistic missile launches, but China and Russia vetoed the suggestion, publicly splitting the UN Security Council over North Korea for the first time since it began. to punish him in 2006, when North Korea conducted its first nuclear test.

In recent weeks, North Korea has tested a variety of missiles, including its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

North Korea’s latest tests were on May 25, when it launched three missiles after US President Joe Biden wrapped up a trip to Asia in which he agreed to new measures to deter the nuclear-armed state.

The first missile appeared to be North Korea’s largest intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-17, while an unspecified second missile appeared to have failed in mid-flight, South Korean officials said at the time. The third missile was a Short Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM).

On Saturday, South Korean and US ships wrapped up three days of drills in international waters off the Japanese island of Okinawa, including air defense, anti-ship, anti-submarine and maritime interdiction operations, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

He has said that the exercises “solidified the determination of the two countries to respond severely to any provocation by North Korea.”

The exercises included the USS Ronald Reagan, a 100,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, among other major warships.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office on May 10, has agreed with Biden to increase bilateral military exercises to deter North Korea.

North Korea has criticized previous joint drills as an example of Washington’s continued “hostile policies” toward Pyongyang, despite talk of diplomacy.

Reporting by Byungwook Kim and Josh Smith; Additional reporting by Junko Fujita in Tokyo; Edited by Leslie Adler, Lisa Shumaker, and Raju Gopalakrishnan

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