TOKYO — North Korea fired two ballistic missiles off its east coast Wednesday, just two days after it announced a test of a new long-range cruise missile, in what is likely a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Support our journalism. Subscribe today ArrowRight
The projectiles were identified as short-range ballistic missiles by the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff. If confirmed, it would be the first such test since March.
North Korea’s back-to-back weapons tests come amid stalled nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington and puts renewed pressure on the Biden administration’s efforts to end North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile program.
A series of senior-level talks are taking place this week as officials in South Korea, Japan, China and the United States discuss how to re-engage Pyongyang on nuclear talks, even as North Korea remains in a strict pandemic lockdown mode.
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
President Biden’s nuclear envoy, Sung Kim, is in Tokyo this week to meet with Japanese and South Korean officials. Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in Seoul for meetings with his South Korean counterparts regarding the stalled nuclear diplomacy with the North.
North Korea says it has tested a new long-range cruise missile
South Korean President Moon Jae-in was briefed on the missile testing and is scheduled to hold a meeting of the National Security Council standing committee, Blue House spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee said in a statement. The country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the missiles were fired from the central inland area of North Korea Wednesday afternoon and reached the East Sea, flying nearly 500 miles (800 kilometers) at a maximum altitude of 37 miles (60 kilometers).
Meanwhile, South Korea successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile this month, becoming only the eighth country to do so.
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
Earlier this year, the United States lifted restrictions on South Korea’s ability to develop missiles, under an agreement reached during Moon’s summit with President Biden in Washington.
What’s happening inside North Korea? Since the pandemic, the window has slammed shut.
U.S. military officials said they have assessed that the Wednesday launch “does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies.” Still, “the missile launch highlights the destabilizing impact of the DPRK’s illicit weapons program,” the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement.
North Korea tests this week are consistent with the country’s announced schedule for enhancing its military capabilities for deterrence, said Kim Joon-hyung, international relations professor at South Korea’s Handong University and former foreign policy adviser to Moon.
Story continues below advertisement
“Pyongyang is doing what they planned in the context of enhancing its military capabilities for deterrence,” he said. “They are doing this also for domestic purpose. This is what Pyongyang does the best anyway, especially under the dire economic and pandemic crisis situation.”
Biden administration forges new path on North Korea crisis in wake of Trump and Obama failures
The Japanese coastguard said that the projectile landed outside of the exclusive economic zone, meaning it did not reach Japanese territory.
Advertisement
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday condemned the missile launches, and said that the tests are “threatening the peace and security of our country and region. They’re also violating the U.N. Security Council resolutions.”
The Japanese Defense Ministry said in a statement that “North Korea’s recent repeated launches of ballistic missiles and other projectiles are a serious problem for Japan and the international community as a whole,” Kyodo News reported.
The U.N. Security Council took no action in response to North Korea’s launch of two ballistic missiles in March.