Kim Jong-un said he wanted to “strengthen” his country’s nuclear arsenal in April. North Korea resumed firing intercontinental ballistic missiles in March after a five-year hiatus.
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Kim Jong-un promised on April 26 to “to strenghten” North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. The result was not long in coming: South Korea claims that Pyongyang launched a ballistic missile on Wednesday May 4.
The firing targeted the Sea of Japan, just like when the country’s most powerful missile was fired in March. The latter had ended a five-year moratorium on intercontinental ballistic missile testing, which Pyongyang had put in place after discussions with then-US President Donald Trump.
But negotiations have been stalled since 2019, and despite severe international sanctions, North Korea has carried out more than a dozen test firings since the start of the year. Kim Jong-un called nuclear weapons a “safety lifeline” of North Korea, and threatened to use it “as a preventive measure”.
This launch also comes less than a week before the new South Korean president, Yoon Suk-yeol, takes office. The conservative elected in March has promised to be more firm with regard to his northern neighbor, in particular by demanding his renunciation of nuclear weapons before resuming peace talks. US President Joe Biden is due to visit South Korea at the end of May.