North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Monday, Seoul said 48 hours after the launch of an ICBM condemned by the UN Secretary-General.
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“Our military detected two short-range ballistic missiles fired from the areas of Sukchon in South Pyongan Province between 7 a.m. and 7:11 a.m. this morning,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Tokyo also confirmed the launches, with the prime minister’s office warning that the North had launched “a suspected ballistic missile” and the Coast Guard issuing warnings of multiple projectiles.
Shortly thereafter, Pyongyang released a statement saying it had “twice fired multiple 600mm rocket launchers” into the East Sea, also referring to the body of water known as the Sea of Japan.
The launch comes less than 48 hours after Pyongyang conducted a so-called “surprise exercise” in which it launched an ICBM that it says demonstrates its “nuclear counterattack” capability.
Japan said the ICBM launched on Saturday flew for 66 minutes before falling back into its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). In response, Seoul and Washington on Sunday held joint aerial exercises, mobilizing a strategic bomber and stealth fighter jets.
The launch was “strongly” condemned by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, his spokesman said on Sunday.
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the DPRK’s launch of another ICBM,” Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement released on Sunday, referring to North Korea’s official name.
In a statement released Monday morning, North Korean leader Kim Yo Jong’s sister warned that Pyongyang would continue to take “appropriate countermeasures” against any perceived threat.
“The frequency of using the Pacific as a firing range depends on the nature of the deployment of American forces,” she said in a statement released by North Korea’s official agency KCNA.
North Korea praised its soldiers for conducting the “sudden fire drill” on Saturday, but South Korean analysts pointed out that the nine-hour delay between the order and the launch wasn’t particularly quick.
Kim Yo Jong dismissed these criticisms as “an attempt to underestimate the readiness of the DPRK’s ballistic forces”.
angry reaction
Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification told AFP the angry response is part of a “trend” by North Korea to resist any outside assessment of its security capabilities.
“Kim’s strong and angry response to the external assessment of his ICBM launch shows that the North is serious about getting the message across that it is capable of hitting the continental United States,” he noted, adding that Monday’s launch was its response “to the weekend’s joint Korea-US air exercise.”
The use of short-range missiles suggests North Korea is “virtually attacking US bases and the South Korean command center in the region,” Hong said.
The North’s launches — conducted despite heavy international sanctions on its weapons programs — come just ahead of the start of joint Seoul-Washington exercises scheduled for later this week to improve their response in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack.
Last week, Pyongyang warned it would respond with “unprecedented” force to upcoming drills, which it described as preparations for war and blamed the deteriorating security situation on the Korean peninsula.
Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul are already at their lowest in years. In 2022, the North called its nuclear status “irreversible” and Kim Jong Un called for “exponential” growth in arms production, including tactical nuclear weapons.