SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. and South Korean militaries launched eight ballistic missiles into the sea Monday in a show of force similar to North Korea’s missile display the day before that extended a provocative streak in weapons demonstrations.
The allies’ live-fire exercise involved eight Army Tactical Missile System missiles, one American and seven South Korean, which were fired into the waters off eastern South Korea over 10 minutes after notifications from air and sea security, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea and US Forces Korea.
The tit-for-tat missile launches were aimed at demonstrating the ability to respond quickly and accurately to North Korean attacks, the South Korean military said.
The South Korean military detected on Sunday that North Korea fired eight short-range missiles over 35 minutes from at least four different locations, including coastal areas to the west and east and two inland areas to the north and near the capital Pyongyang. in what appeared to be a single-day record for the country’s ballistic releases.
It was North Korea’s 18th round of missile tests in 2022 alone, a streak that included the country’s first ICBM launches in nearly five years. South Korean and US officials also say North Korea is preparing to conduct its first nuclear test since September 2017, as leader Kim Jong Un pursues a brinkmanship aimed at cementing the North’s status as a nuclear power and negotiating economic and security concessions. security from a position of strength.
US and South Korean forces conducted a similar live-fire exercise following North Korea’s previous ballistic launches on May 25, which the South Korean military said involved an intercontinental ballistic missile flown on a trajectory medium-range and two short-range weapons. Those tests came as Biden wrapped up his trip to South Korea and Japan, where he reaffirmed America’s commitment to defending both allies.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, during a speech marking the country’s Memorial Day on Monday, said his government will seek “fundamental and practical security capabilities” to counter Korea’s growing nuclear weapons and missile threat. from North.
“North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs have grown to the point where they are not only a threat to the Korean Peninsula, but also to Northeast Asia and world peace,” Yoon said at the North Korea National Cemetery. Seoul, saying his government would “respond severely.” to any kind of provocation from North Korea.”
Yoon, a conservative who took office in May, has vowed to strengthen the South’s defense along with its alliance with the United States. His goals include improving missile strike and interception capabilities and resuming large-scale military exercises with the United States, which were suspended or scaled back in recent years to create space for diplomacy with Pyongyang or due to COVID-19.
Yoon’s dovish predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who had staked his five-year term on inter-Korean engagement, refrained from conducting missile counter-exercises after North Korea resumed ballistic missile tests in 2019 as its diplomacy with the United States failure.
North Korean state media have yet to comment on Sunday’s launches. They came after the US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan wrapped up a three-day naval drill with South Korea in the Philippine Sea on Saturday, apparently their first joint drill involving an aircraft carrier since November 2017, as the countries move forward. to improve your face defense exercises. of North Korean threats.
North Korea has long condemned allies’ combined military exercises as invasion drills and has often responded with its own missile drills, including short-range launches in 2016 and 2017 that simulated nuclear strikes on Korean ports. of the South and US military installations in Japan.
Hours after the North Korean launches, Japan and the United States held a joint ballistic missile exercise aimed at showing their “rapid response capability” and “strong determination” to counter threats, the US Defense Ministry said. Japan.
The United States has promised to push through additional international sanctions if North Korea conducts a nuclear test, but prospects for significant new punitive measures are slim with the permanent members of the UN Security Council divided.
Russia and China vetoed a US-sponsored resolution that would have imposed additional sanctions on North Korea over its latest missile tests on May 25, insisting that Washington should focus on reviving negotiations with Pyongyang.
Those talks have stalled since 2019 over disagreements over trading the release of crippling US-led sanctions for the North’s disarmament steps.
Despite facing tough challenges at home, including a flagging economy and an outbreak of COVID-19, Kim has shown no willingness to fully surrender an arsenal he sees as his best guarantee of survival.
His administration has so far rejected offers from the Biden administration for open talks and clearly intends to turn dormant denuclearization negotiations into a mutual arms reduction process, experts say.
Reference-apnews.com