North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Saturday, February 18, which appears to have struck Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Tokyo claimed it was an “ICBM-class” (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) ICBM.
The missile, which was launched “in an easterly direction,” flew “for approximately sixty-six minutes,” Japanese government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. He said the projectile traveled a distance of about 900 kilometers and appeared to have fallen at 18:27 (10:27 Paris time).
The flight time is similar to that of the Hwasong-17 ICBM, which Pyongyang tested last November, according to the South Korean special site NK News. This new missile launch could therefore be a second test of the Hwasong-17, but it could also be a test “of the solid-fuel ICBM that Pyongyang is developing, which has never been seen at the moment,” said Joseph Dempsey, a researcher at the International Institute for strategic studies, said Agence France-Presse (AFP).
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North Korea has long been trying to develop a solid-fuel ICBM. In fact, these missiles are easier to store and transport, have better stability and can be prepared for launch more quickly, making their detection and pre-emptive destruction more difficult.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the missile appeared to have a flight capability of 14,000 kilometers – which would allow it to reach the mainland United States.
“This shooting unnecessarily increases tensions and risks destabilizing security in the region,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said on Saturday. “This is in flagrant violation of several UN Security Council resolutions,” the US official added.
return of tension
This missile launch, the first in seven weeks, comes as the United States and South Korea prepare to conduct a military simulation exercise. That exercise is to be held in Washington next week to discuss the actions to be taken in the event Pyongyang uses nuclear weapons.
North Korea on Friday threatened to react to the upcoming US-South Korea maneuvers and see them as preparation for an armed conflict. If the two allies conduct this exercise, “they will face strong and unprecedented countermeasures (…)”, a Pyongyang diplomacy spokesman said in a statement.
The launch is “a further escalation of North Korea’s efforts to improve its long-range attack capabilities,” Chun In-bum, a retired South Korean general, told AFP.
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The year 2022 was marked by a sharp resurgence of tensions in the peninsula. The relative appeasement bracket initiated by South Korean President Moon Jae-in (2017-2022) in 2018, marked by the 2018 and 2019 summits between Kim Jong-un and United States President Donald Trump (2017-2021), seems finally closed.
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In early 2022, North Korea’s leader called for “strengthening national defense capabilities.” The war in Ukraine that began in February helped validate this choice. Pyongyang relentlessly supports Moscow. The regime recognized Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories and reportedly supplied Moscow with 100,000 shells. In return, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke of economic and military aid for Pyongyang.
The rise to power in Seoul of Yoon Seok-youl, elected on the promise of a firm policy on Pyongyang, a strengthening of the alliance with the United States and a rapprochement with Japan, also persuaded North Korea to solidify its alliance positions.
All joint military maneuvers between the United States and South Korea infuriate Pyongyang, which sees them as a rehearsal for a possible invasion and has often responded with threats and drills on its part.
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