(Seoul) North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Monday, Seoul said 48 hours after the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) condemned by the UN secretary-general.
“Our military detected two short-range ballistic missiles fired from Sukchon areas in South Pyongan Province between 7:00 a.m. and 7:11 a.m. (10 p.m. and 5:11 p.m. EST) this morning,” he said. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Tokyo also confirmed the launches, with the Prime Minister’s Office warning that the North launched “a suspected ballistic missile” and the Coast Guard issuing alerts about multiple projectiles.
Soon after, Pyongyang released a statement saying it had ‘twice fired multiple 600mm rocket launchers’ into the East Sea, also referring to the stretch of water. known as the Sea of Japan.
The launch comes less than 48 hours after Pyongyang carried out what it called a “surprise” exercise firing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which it said demonstrates its “nuclear counterattack” capabilities. murderer”.
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 held joint aerial exercises on Sunday, 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 launch of yet another intercontinental-range ballistic missile by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement issued on Sunday, referring to North Korea’s official name.
In a statement released Monday morning, the North Korean leader’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, warned that Pyongyang would continue to take “corresponding countermeasures” to any perceived threat.
“The frequency of use of the Pacific as a firing range depends on the type of action of the American forces”, she put forward in a press release published by the official North Korean agency KCNA.
North Korea praised its soldiers for carrying out the “sudden fire drill” on Saturday, but South Korean analysts pointed out that the nine-hour delay between the order and the launch was not particularly fast.
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 that the angry reaction was part of a “trend” by North Korea to push back against any outside assessment of its security capabilities. ‘ICBM.
“Kim’s strong and angry reaction to the outside assessment of his ICBM launch shows that the North is serious about getting the message across that it is capable of striking 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 shorter-range missiles indicates that North Korea is “virtually targeting US bases and the South Korean command center in the region”, according to Hong.
The North’s launches – carried out despite heavy international sanctions on its weapons programs – came just before the start of joint drills between Seoul and Washington scheduled for later this week to improve their response in the event of an attack. North Korean nuclear attack.
Last week, Pyongyang warned it would react with “unprecedented” vigor to the upcoming drills, which it describes as preparations for war and blames for the deteriorating security situation on the Korean peninsula.
Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul are already at their lowest level in years. In 2022, the North called its status as a nuclear power “irreversible” and Kim Jong-un called for an “exponential” growth in the production of armaments, including tactical nuclear weapons.