North Korea: Fires ballistic missile ahead of joint US-South Korean military training centers

In launching a ballistic missile of an unknown type off its eastern coast, the North Koreafollowing the arrival of the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier strike force for joint military exercises with the South Korean armed forces and just twenty-four hours before US Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Seoul for talks with President Yun Seok-gil.

“North Korea launched a ballistic missile of an unknown type”South Korea’s general staff said, without elaborating.

According to South Korea’s national news agency Yonhap, it was a short-range ballistic missile launched from an area near Pyongyang.

According to the Japanese Coast Guard, already fell into the sea. NHK television reported that the sea area where it went down is outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The launch, one of several weapons tests North Korea has carried out this year, follows information released by Seoul that Pyongyang is preparing to test a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

This is the first missile test since early Junewhen North Korea launched eight ballistic missiles in one day, prompting the US to call for new sanctions for violating UN Security Council resolutions.

North Korea rejects the relevant resolutions of the UN, which it characterizes as violations of its sovereign rights in national defense and space exploration.

The US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its escort vessels arrived at the port of Busan on Fridayon the southern coast of South Korea.

Its presence satisfies the will of Seoul and Washington to increase the so-called US “strategic reimgs” in the region.

South Korean President Yoon, who took office in May, has declared his intention to multiply joint military high schools after his predecessor’s diplomatic efforts failed.

Ronald Reagan will attend joint high schools on the east coast of South Korea. The US, a key ally of South Korea, maintains some 28,500 troops at bases on South Korean territory.

The two countries have held joint military exercises for decades, insisting on their defensive character, but North Korea considers them rehearsals for an invasion of its territory.

US and South Korean officials have said for months that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is preparing for another nuclear weapon test. If it does happen, it will be the seventh since 2006. The most recent was in 2017. The weapon tested was the most powerful one Pyongyang has ever built, with an estimated yield of 250 kilotons. North Korea had reportedly tested a hydrogen bomb at the time.

“Very serious challenge”

The general staff of national defense speaks of a “very serious provocation” that “threatens the peace and security of the Korean peninsula and the international community” South Korea.
After the launch, South Korean chief of staff Kim Sung-kiam discussed the situation with the commander of US forces in Korea, Paul LaCamera, and both sides reaffirmed their readiness to respond to any threat or provocation by Pyongyang, according to the same img.

The South Korean presidency’s National Security Council held an emergency meeting to consider retaliatory measures and condemned the weapons test, which it said violated Security Council resolutions and was an unjustified “provocation.”

South Korean President Yun, who returned to Seoul on Saturday after successive visits to Britain, the US and Canada, was briefed on the launch, his office said.

Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the missile was estimated to have reached a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers and that its trajectory was irregular. He added that it came down in a maritime area outside his country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and that no problems were reported by ships or aircraft in the area.

According to South Korea’s armed forces, the missile was launched from the Daecheon region shortly before 07:00 (local time) and covered a distance of 600 kilometers at an altitude of 60 kilometers reaching a speed of up to Mach 5.

Several of the short-range missiles North Korea has tested in recent years are designed to evade missile defense systems by maneuvering in flight and taking a lower trajectory, experts say.

“If you include the cruise missile launches, this is the 19th launch (of a missile by North Korea this year), this is an unprecedented pace (of weapons tests),” Mr. Hamada stressed for his part.

He spoke of a “threat to the peace and security of our country, the region and the international community”, adding that “doing this in the midst of the invasion of Ukraine is unforgivable”. He added that Japan lodged a protest through the North Korean embassy in Beijing.