In its 7th round of weapons launched in a month, North Korea on early Sunday morning fired a suspected ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan. The move was reportedly an apparent attempt to pressure US President Joe Biden administration over long-stalled nuclear negotiations, AP reported. The missile launch prompted the Japanese Coast Guard to send out maritime caution signals to naval vessels earlier today.
The missile was suspected to have been launched from the northern inland area, South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, as quoted by AP, adding that it has not yet been ascertained as to how far the projectile flew. South Korea reported that the launch took place at 07:52 local time on Sunday, adding that the projectile was an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which would be the biggest missile tested since November 2017, BBC reported. Meanwhile, Japan PM Fumio Kishida’s office and the Defence Ministry said that the weapon was “possibly a ballistic missile” without revealing further details. The launch came three days after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Thursday.
North Korea missile falls outside Japan EEZ
As per recent updates, the suspected ballistic projectile fired from Jagang Province landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hitokazu Matsuno told reporters that the missile launched by Pyongyang flew at least 800 km reaching a maximum altitude of 200 km and “fell outside of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone,” which is a vast area of territorial waters that included Seto Island Sea. The total area is about 4.48 million sq. km. However, there were no immediate reports of damage to any boats or aircraft.
North Korea earlier in the week, on Tuesday, also tested a pair of purported long-range cruise missiles in a bid to strengthen its nuclear “war deterrent” and build more powerful weapons. Pyongyang under Kim Jong-un has been instrumental in bolstering its missile testing in recent months, with at least 7 rounds tested since the beginning of 2022 alone. As per AP, the move is to demonstrate North Korea’s military might and a long-standing impasse over nuclear diplomacy with the US. Meanwhile, the US has reiterated its claims of “taking action” against North Korea to prevent Pyongyang from acquiring weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.
North Korea’s economic decay as it bolsters defence capabilities
Experts believe that North Korea could halt missile testing before the start of the Beijing Olympics out of respect for China, which is Pyongyang’s major ally and economic lifeline. “North Korea is launching a frenzy of missiles before the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics, mostly as military modernisation efforts. Pyongyang also wants to boost national pride as it gears up to celebrate political anniversaries in the context of economic struggles,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, as quoted by AP.
North Korea has often justified its missile test, citing its right to self-defence and warned the US of “stronger action” if the Biden administration imposed fresh sanctions. Meanwhile, desperate and grappling with a collapsing economy under US-levied sanctions, North Korea has shown no sign to deter from aggressive threats to the West. Experts suggest that Kim Jong-un’s pressure campaign is aimed at Washington to acknowledge NK has a nuclear-powered state and “convert their nuclear disarmament-for-aid diplomacy” into negotiations for mutual weapon-reduction. In addition, Kim Jong-un also launched a five-year plan last year to beef up ambitious defence plans using hypersonic weapons, spy satellites, solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched nuclear missiles.
Image: AP
In its 7th round of weapons launched in a month, North Korea on early Sunday morning fired a suspected ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan. The move was reportedly an apparent attempt to pressure US President Joe Biden administration over long-stalled nuclear negotiations, AP reported. The missile launch prompted the Japanese Coast Guard to send out maritime caution signals to naval vessels earlier today. The missile was suspected to have been launched from the northern inland area, South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, as quoted by AP, adding that it has not yet been ascertained as to how far the projectile flew. South Korea reported that the launch took place at 07:52 local time on Sunday, adding that the projectile was an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which would be the biggest missile tested since November 2017, BBC reported. Meanwhile, Japan PM Fumio Kishida’s office and the Defence Ministry said that the weapon was “possibly a ballistic missile” without revealing further details. The launch came three days after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Thursday. North Korea missile falls outside Japan EEZ As per recent updates, the suspected ballistic projectile fired from Jagang Province landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hitokazu Matsuno told reporters that the missile launched by Pyongyang flew at least 800 km reaching a maximum altitude of 200 km and “fell outside of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone,” which is a vast area of territorial waters that included Seto Island Sea. The total area is about 4.48 million sq. km. However, there were no immediate reports of damage to any boats or aircraft. North Korea earlier in the week, on Tuesday, also tested a pair of purported long-range cruise missiles in a bid to strengthen its nuclear “war deterrent” and build more powerful weapons. Pyongyang under Kim Jong-un has been instrumental in bolstering its missile testing in recent months, with at least 7 rounds tested since the beginning of 2022 alone. As per AP, the move is to demonstrate North Korea’s military might and a long-standing impasse over nuclear diplomacy with the US. Meanwhile, the US has reiterated its claims of “taking action” against North Korea to prevent Pyongyang from acquiring weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. North Korea’s economic decay as it bolsters defence capabilities Experts believe that North Korea could halt missile testing before the start of the Beijing Olympics out of respect for China, which is Pyongyang’s major ally and economic lifeline. “North Korea is launching a frenzy of missiles before the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics, mostly as military modernisation efforts. Pyongyang also wants to boost national pride as it gears up to celebrate political anniversaries in the context of economic struggles,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, as quoted by AP. North Korea has often justified its missile test, citing its right to self-defence and warned the US of “stronger action” if the Biden administration imposed fresh sanctions. Meanwhile, desperate and grappling with a collapsing economy under US-levied sanctions, North Korea has shown no sign to deter from aggressive threats to the West. Experts suggest that Kim Jong-un’s pressure campaign is aimed at Washington to acknowledge NK has a nuclear-powered state and “convert their nuclear disarmament-for-aid diplomacy” into negotiations for mutual weapon-reduction. In addition, Kim Jong-un also launched a five-year plan last year to beef up ambitious defence plans using hypersonic weapons, spy satellites, solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched nuclear missiles. Image: AP