North Korea yesterday fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile designed for submarines, testing US President Donald Trump’s tolerance for weapons tests just hours after agreeing to restart stalled nuclear talks with the US
The South Korean military said the missile was fired near North Korea’s eastern Wonsan area just after 7am and flew 91km into space before falling in the sea.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the missile might have separated during flight, with at least one piece falling in Japan’s exclusive economic zone near Shimane Prefecture.
Photo: AFP
“The launch of this type of ballistic missile is a violation of United Nations resolutions,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters in an emergency news briefing. “Japan strongly protests and condemns the action.”
The South Korean Ministry of National Defense said it could not confirm whether the missile was launched at sea or from a land-based site.
The missile was the longest-range weapon that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s regime has tested since his last intercontinental ballistic missile test in November 2017, a move that might be designed to increase its bargaining leverage.
The US president has so far shrugged off a recent flurry of shorter-range missiles launches, with the US Department of State on Tuesday saying that the two sides had agreed to resume working-level talks this week.
“North Korea is always trying to push the boundaries of what the international community will accept as far as they can go,” said Mintaro Oba, a former US diplomat who worked on Korean Peninsula issues. “Timing launches at moments when the United States is less likely to object certainly meets that goal.”
The State Department yesterday called on North Korea “to refrain from provocations,” abide by UN Security Council resolutions, engage in negotiations and work toward denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.
The test comes after former White House national security adviser John Bolton said on Monday in Washington that the US cannot “simply pretend” North Korea is making progress toward denuclearizing, adding that Kim would never give up his nuclear stockpile without more pressure.
In addition, South Korea’s advanced “fifth-generation” fighter jet made its public debut on Tuesday.
Kim has fired off at least 20 missiles in 11 different military tests since breaking a testing-freeze in May. The launches have included blasts from multiple rocket launchers and a new short-range ballistic missile known as the KN-23, which analysts said is nuclear-warhead capable, can strike all of South Korea and is designed to evade US missile shields.
A launch of a submarine-based missile could demonstrate Kim’s progress toward a two-pronged nuclear deterrent capable of quick strikes on the US and its allies from mobile launchers on land and hard-to-track submarines.
If confirmed, yesterday’s launch would be the first time the regime has fired a missile specifically designed for deployment at sea since 2016.
South Korea said the missile might have been from the Pukguksong group of submarine-launched weapons, which have ranges in excess of 1,000km.
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