(Seoul) North Korea on Wednesday fired at least 10 missiles of various types, including one falling near South Korean territorial waters, for “the first time” according to the Seoul army, which promised a “decisive” answer.
Updated yesterday at 10:58 p.m.
“(This) North Korean missile launch is highly unusual and unacceptable, given that it fell near South Korean territorial waters south of the Northern Limit Line for the first time” since the peninsula was divided, Kang Shin-chul, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters.
“North Korea fired at least 10 missiles of various types today toward the east and the west,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said.
An airstrike alert broadcast by authorities on national television asked residents of Ulleungdo island “to evacuate to the nearest underground shelter”, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
“We declare that our army will respond decisively to this,” he added.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called a National Security Council meeting over the launch, which analysts said was one of the most “aggressive and threatening” in several years.
Japan has also confirmed the launch of suspected North Korean ballistic missiles, with the coast guard advising ships to be careful.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters he wanted to “hold a national security meeting as soon as possible” due to “increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula”.
Vigilant Storm
Seoul and Washington are currently holding the largest joint air exercise in their history, dubbed “Vigilant Storm”, involving hundreds of warplanes from both armies.
Pak Jong Chon, a North Korean field marshal and secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party, said the drills were aggressive, according to a report by North Korea’s official press on Wednesday.
According to him, the name of these maneuvers echoes Operation “Desert Storm”, the name given to the military operations of the coalition led by the United States against Iraq in 1990 and 1991 after the invasion of Kuwait.
“If the United States and South Korea try to use their armed forces against the (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) without fear, the special means of the DPRK armed forces will accomplish their strategic mission without delay,” said Mr. Pak, according to state agency KCNA.
“The United States and South Korea will have to face a terrible bargain and pay the most horrific price in history,” Pak added.
Close to South Korea
One of the missiles landed in waters just 57 kilometers (35 miles) east of the South Korean mainland, the South Korean military said.
“In protest against the joint exercise by the United States and South Korea, Pyongyang appears to have staged the most aggressive and threatening show (of force) against the South since 2010,” Cheong Seong-chang told AFP. researcher at the Sejong Institute.
In March 2010, a North Korean submarine torpedoed a South Korean corvette, the Cheonan, killing 46 sailors, 16 of whom were doing their compulsory military service.
In November of the same year, the North had bombed an island bordering South Korea, causing the death of two young soldiers.
The North Korean missile launch comes after a series of launches, including what the North has called tactical nuclear exercises.
Washington and Seoul repeatedly warn that Pyongyang could carry out another nuclear test, which would constitute the 7e of its history.
The air exercise “Vigilant Storm” was preceded by 12 days of naval exercises.
“As long as I can remember, North Korea has never made such a provocation when South Korea and the United States were carrying out joint maneuvers,” Park Won-gon, a professor at the university, told AFP. Ewa University.
Pyongyang seems to have completed its most powerful (measure of) deterrence. It is a serious threat. The North also seems confident in its nuclear capabilities. ”