(SEOUL) North Korea launched two ballistic missiles on Sunday, days after Pyongyang announced a successful test of a solid-fuel engine to develop a new weapon system.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected ballistic missiles fired from the Tongchang-ri area in North Pyongan Province (northwest) towards the East Sea, also known as the South Sea. Japan.
The missiles were detected between 11:13 a.m. (9:13 p.m. EST) and 12:05 p.m. (10:05 p.m. EST).
“Our military has increased surveillance and vigilance while cooperating closely with the United States and maintaining full readiness,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff added in a statement.
The launch comes as Pyongyang announced on Friday that it had tested a “high-thrust solid-fuel engine”, which its state media KCNA called an important test “for the development of a strategic weapons system of a new kind “.
Despite heavy international sanctions weighing on its weapons programs, Pyongyang has built up an arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
All of its ICBMs, however, are liquid fueled. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un considers the development of solid-fuel engines to make more advanced missiles a strategic priority.
Kim Jong-un claimed in 2022 that he wanted North Korea to have the most powerful nuclear force in the world, and declared his country’s nuclear state status “irreversible”.
Among its goals unveiled in 2021 is the development of solid-fuel ICBMs that could be launched from land or from submarines.
The engine test announced on Friday was a step towards achieving this goal, but experts do not know what stage of development North Korea is in on such missiles.
Key party meeting
The political orientations of the isolated country for 2023 will be set out in December at a key party meeting. KCNA reported that, according to Kim Jong-un, the year 2023 would be a “historic year”.
For several years, the leader had held a speech on the 1er January before breaking this tradition in favor of announcements during this end-of-year plenary meeting.
In his most recent speech, published for the last New Year’s Day, he focused on home affairs.
Experts say that while Kim Jong-un refrained from addressing the United States directly last time, he may change his tune this time around.
Pyongyang has conducted a record series of weapons tests this year, including its most advanced ICBM.
The United States and South Korea have been warning for months that North Korea may be planning what would be its seventh nuclear test in its history and the first in five years.
North Korea has been under multiple United Nations Security Council sanctions over its nuclear and missile program since 2006.