Register now for FREE, unlimited access to Reuters.comRegister
SEOUL, Sept 25 (Reuters) – North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast on Sunday, ahead of planned military exercises by South Korean and U.S. forces involving an aircraft carrier and a visit to the region of US Vice President Kamala Harris.
South Korea’s military said it was a short-range ballistic missile fired from near the Taechon area in North Pyongyan province shortly before 7 a.m. local time. fly about 600 km (373 miles) at an altitude of 60 km and a speed of Mach. 5.
“North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile is a serious act of provocation that threatens the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and the international community,” South Korea’s Chief of Staff said in a statement
Register now for FREE, unlimited access to Reuters.comRegister
After the launch, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Seung-kyum and Commander of US Forces Korea Paul LaCamera discussed the situation and reaffirmed their readiness to respond to any threat or provocation of North Korea, he added.
South Korea’s National Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss response measures and condemned the launch as an apparent violation of UN Security Council resolutions and an unjustifiable act of provocation.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who arrived late Saturday from a trip to Britain, the United States and Canada, was briefed on the launch, the presidential office said.
Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Japan estimated the missile reached a maximum altitude of 50 km and may have flown on an irregular trajectory. Hamada said it was outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone and there were no reports of problems with shipping or air traffic.
Many of the short-range missiles tested by North Korea in recent years have been designed to evade missile defenses by maneuvering in flight and flying a lower, “depressed” trajectory, experts say.
“If you include cruise missile launches, this is the nineteenth launch, which is an unprecedented pace,” Hamada said.
“North Korea’s action poses a threat to the peace and security of our country, the region and the international community and to do so while the invasion of Ukraine is unfolding is unforgivable,” he said, adding that Japan had made a protest through the North Korean embassy in North Korea. Beijing
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un addresses the Supreme People’s Assembly, North Korea’s parliament, which passed a law officially enshrining its nuclear weapons policies, in Pyongyang, South Korea North, on Sept. 8, 2022 in this photo released by the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). ). KCNA via REUTERS
The US Indo-Pacific Command said it was aware of the launch and was consulting closely with allies, in a statement released after the launch, while reaffirming the US commitment to the defense of South Korea and Japan.
“While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies, the missile launch highlights the destabilizing impact of illegal nuclear weapons programs. mass destruction and DPRK ballistic missiles.”
PERFORATED JOINTS
The launch comes after the arrival of the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in South Korea to participate in joint exercises with South Korean forces for four days from September 26 to 29, and ahead of a visit scheduled in Seoul this week Harris. Read more
It was the first time the North had carried out such a launch after it launched eight short-range ballistic missiles in one day in early June, prompting the United States to call for more sanctions for violating the resolutions of the UN Security Council.
North Korea rejects the UN resolutions as a violation of its sovereign right to self-defense and space exploration, and has criticized past joint exercises by the United States and South Korea as evidence of its hostile policies.
The drills have also been criticized by Russia and China, which have called on all sides not to take steps that would increase tensions in the region, and called for sanctions relief.
After North Korea conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests this year, including its first intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017, the United States and South Korea said they would increase joint exercises and demonstrations military power to deter Pyongyang.
“The defense exercises will not prevent North Korea’s missile tests,” said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international affairs at Ewha University in Seoul.
But security cooperation between the United States and South Korea helps deter a North Korean attack and counter Pyongyang’s coercion, and the allies should not let provocations prevent them from conducting military training and necessary exchanges to maintain the alliance, he added.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Saturday that North Korea may also be preparing to test a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), citing the South’s military. Read more
Register now for FREE, unlimited access to Reuters.comRegister
Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Additional reporting by Josh Smith and Tim Kelly; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Himani Sarkar
Our standards: the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.