North Korea fired two projectiles into waters east of the Korean Peninsula on Saturday night, according to the South Korean military. This is the country’s 12th test of the year.
Footage published on Sunday by North Korean state newspaper Rodong Sinmun showed the country’s leader Kim Jong Un smiling and clapping as he watched the test firing that the paper called a “new tactical weapon”.
The projectiles were fired from the Hamhung area of North Korea around 6 pm, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The projectiles flew about 110 kilometers at an altitude of 25 kilometers, with a maximum speed of 4900 hm/h, according to the South Koreans.
This Sunday (17), North Korean state media KCNA reported that Kim had observed the test firing of a “new type tactical guided weapon” which was “successfully carried out”.
KCNA said the new weapon boosted the country’s “frontline long-range artillery units” and increased efficiency “in North Korea’s tactical nuclear weapons operation and diversification of its firepower missions.”
Immediately after the launch, South Korea’s armed forces, intelligence agencies and the Office of National Security held an emergency meeting to assess the situation and discuss countermeasures, according to a statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in is receiving real-time reports from the Office of National Security and has ordered his ministries to inspect North Korea’s movements, Moon spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee reported.
“We are aware of the North Korean statement that they conducted a test of a long-range artillery system. We review all activities in close coordination with our allies and partners,” said a US Department of Defense spokesperson.
Duyeon Kim, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said North Korea aims to manufacture missiles that can evade defense systems, with “capabilities that can fly under US and South Korean radars.” .
“These types of missiles are especially threatening to South Korea and Japan and are weapons that can be used or even start a conflict,” she said.
Ankit Panda, Stanton’s senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, added that this was the first time North Korea had “specifically assigned a tactical nuclear weapons role to a missile in a test.”
North Korea has ramped up its missile tests this year, including its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in more than four years on March 24, in defiance of international law.
In the first four months of 2022 alone, the country carried out 12 tests; by comparison, it ran just four tests in 2020 and eight in 2021.
The ICBM has been reported as the most formidable so far — although missile experts and a South Korean military official later said it may have been a less advanced weapon than previously believed.
Duyeon Kim said the tests could have several purposes: one is a message to the North Korean people that “their country is strong despite its apparent economic difficulties”.
North Korea also has “a domestic imperative to manufacture and perfect the types of advanced weapons that Kim Jong Un ordered last year,” she said.
This year is important for the country due to several important dates — including the 10th anniversary of Kim Jong Un’s rule and the 110th anniversary of the birth of its founder Kim Il Sung, one of the most important events on the North Korean calendar.
Lee Sang-hyun, president of the South Korean institute Sejong Institute, said Kim may be under pressure “to show his achievements”.
Another reason for the recent tests could be a protest against joint US-South Korean military exercises due to take place this month, experts said.
North Korea has long condemned these joint exercises as a serious threat to its security, accusing the US of a “hostile policy” towards the country.
Source: CNN Brasil
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