South Korean intelligence believes two short-range missiles were test-launched during the exercise, probably in a bid to increase pressure on the United States…
South Korean intelligence believes two short-range missiles were test-launched during the exercise, probably in a bid to increase pressure on the United States in nuclear negotiations.
The official word from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Thursday was that North Korea launched an uncertain number of “unidentified projectiles” from the Sino-ri area, where it maintains a base stocked with Nodong medium-range missiles capable of reaching Japan. Subsequent analysis of the flight path suggested the rogue state may have fired the weapons from mobile launchers some distance from the base.
“Our military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance in case of a further launch from North Korea, and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the United States,” the JCS said in a statement.
The Japanese Defense Ministry stated that none of North Korea’s projectiles fell within Japan’s exclusive economic zone and they posed no threat to Japanese security.
Some analysts believe North Korea is testing a new short-range ground-launched ballistic missile, a possible violation of U. N. Security Council resolutions depending on its capabilities.
North Korean state media simultaneously played up this week’s missile launches as ominous portents that Pyongyang’s nuclear missile program is back on track and dismissed South Korean concerns about the launches as a “cock and bull” story.
North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun on Wednesday celebrated North Korea’s “historic” drive for intercontinental nuclear missiles, celebrating the regime in Pyongyang as an “invincible power that has fulfilled the historic cause of parallel development” of its military power an civilian economy while “taking the initiative in policy trends towards peace amid a death-defying confrontation with hostile forces.
