North Korea fired two new ballistic missiles on Friday, according to the South Korean military, marking the third test by Pyongyang since the start of 2022, despite new US sanctions.
These releases come after the United States this week imposed new sanctions on Pyongyang, which responded then that it will never give up its “right to defend itself.”
Friday’s projectiles, short-range ballistic missiles, were fired in the eastern direction of the Korean peninsula, South Korea’s chiefs of staff said.
The launches took place at 2:41 p.m. and 2:52 p.m. (05:41 and 05:52 GMT), and the missiles traveled a distance of 432 km at a height of 36 km, they said.
The South Korean Security Council “regretted” this test that “does not contribute to stability on the Korean peninsula at this critical time.”
In Tokyo, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said the shells fell outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone. These repeated tests show that Pyongyang “seeks to improve its launch technologies,” he said.
Despite international sanctions on its weapons and nuclear program, Pyongyang has carried out two tests of alleged hypersonic missiles in recent days, on January 5 and 11.
Following the second test, personally overseen by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the United States imposed additional sanctions on five people linked to North Korea’s missile program.
A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman accused Washington of engaging in an “intentional escalation” of the situation.
If “the United States takes a confrontational stance, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will be forced to take a stronger and firmer reaction,” the spokesman said in comments reported by the official KCNA news agency on Friday before the shooting.
North Korea has “the legitimate right” to develop new weapons as part of its process of “modernizing its national defense capabilities,” the spokesman added.
A “troubling situation”
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, told AFP that the timing of these trials is “worrisome.”
“The situation is worrying. North Korea has fired this shot immediately after releasing a statement saying it does not give up its ‘right to defend itself,'” Yang said.
“The message is very clear. North Korea is not going to give up anything regarding its weapons, and this despite the new sanctions,” the analyst added.
The new test “was carried out quickly to show the United States that the policy of an eye for an eye tooth for a tooth will be applied after the sanctions” of Washington, said Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Center for Korea Studies. North at the Sejong Institute.
On Thursday, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, urged North Korea to negotiate with the United States, a country that, according to him, does not harbor any “hostile intention” towards the Kim Jong Un regime.
Negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear program have been stalled since the failure of historic 2018-2019 summits between then-US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader.
Pyongyang has resumed ballistic missile tests in recent months, with several launches since September.
The government of current President Joe Biden has repeatedly expressed its willingness to meet with North Korean emissaries, but Pyongyang rejected the offer, accusing the United States of pursuing a “hostile” policy.
