Status: 03/16/2023 03:06
It’s almost a ritual: Pyongyang tests weapons during military maneuvers or important meetings between its rivals. This time, North Korea fired an ICBM before a meeting between the President of South Korea and the Prime Minister of Japan.
North Korea tested an ICBM hours before the start of the South Korea-Japan summit in Tokyo. The South Korean military said the missile was fired from the capital Pyongyang towards the eastern waters of the Korean peninsula in the morning (local time).
The South Korean military remains on alert in close contact with the United States, the statement said. This is the third weapons test this week.
Summit worried North Korea
Pyongyang’s renewed military flex also falls within the context of joint US military exercises with South Korea. North Korea sees this as a test case for an invasion.
The Tokyo summit, in which South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, does not bode well for Pyongyang either: Yoon declared that he wants to overcome the historical differences between his country and Japan to form a united front against neighboring North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and other challenges in the region.
Rocket shot into the sea
Pyongyang’s Sunan district is home to the International Airport and has become an important test site for North Korean ICBMs. These are usually fired in order to avoid the territories of neighboring countries.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the last missile likely landed in waters outside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone and remained in the air for about an hour. The missile landed about 250 kilometers from a small island in whose extended area other ICBMs tested by North Korea have also landed in the past.
US-South Korea military exercises since Monday
The relationship between South Korea and Japan is tense because of Japan’s colonial past on the Korean peninsula. Before leaving for Tokyo, Yoon said, “I believe that we should end the vicious cycle of mutual animosity and work together to pursue the common interests of our two countries.”
Military exercises between the US and South Korea began on Monday and are expected to last until March 23. Last year, North Korea fired more than 70 missiles in weapons tests, including ones that could be nuclear-tipped and hit the territories of the country’s rivals. North Korea has presented many of the weapons tests as warnings of past military maneuvers by its adversaries.
US criticizes missile test
Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the US National Security Council, said Washington will take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the US and its allies, South Korea and Japan. The missile test heightens tensions and risks further destabilizing the security situation in the region.
Before leaving for Tokyo, where he arrived safely, South Korean President Yoon said that North Korea would pay the price for its reckless provocations. Kishida said in Tokyo that cooperation between allies and like-minded countries must be strengthened.