North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Tuesday unidentified toward the Sea of Japan – called the East Sea in the two Koreas – according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The Ministry of Defense of Japan also detected the new North Korean test, which comes just before the U.S. presidential elections are held and after Pyongyang launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last Thursday.
The Japanese ministry noted that. the missile had already landed at an unspecified point in waters outside Japan’s exclusive economic space (EEZ) at around 7:55 local time (22:55 GMT Monday), about 20 minutes after the launch was detected, according to state broadcaster NHK.
The JCS, meanwhile, offered no further details at this time on the new North Korean test, and said it is analyzing the characteristics of the test, in a statement.
Experts and intelligence sources in Seoul had warned of possible provocations by Pyongyang in the form of weapons tests close to the U.S. election date, with a view to reasserting its capabilities as a nuclear power and amid growing condemnation from the international community over the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia to support the government in Moscow in its war against Ukraine.
Largest missile tested
Last October 31, Pyongyang launched an ICBM that traveled a distance of about 1,000 kilometers from its launch point inside North Korea to fall into waters north of Japan, reaching a maximum altitude of 7,000 kilometers, according to data collected by Tokyo and Seoul.
Japan’s Defense Ministry noted that this projectile had flown the longest before impact (one hour and 25 minutes), while a military source in Seoul stated that. was the longest missile tested to date by Pionyang.
North Korea assured that it was a new Hwasong-19 model projectile and called it an “irreversible” achievement in its nuclear weapons development.
Statements by the North Korean leader’s sister
The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Tuesday that recent joint air drills by Seoul, Tokyo and Washington justify Pyongyang’s policy of bolster its nuclear forces.
The leader’s influential sister, Kim Yo-jong, made the remarks in an article published Tuesday by North Korea’s state-run KCNA, where she said. the recent maneuvers are of “the most hostile and dangerous aggressive nature.”
“This is another pure and simple explanation of the enemy’s most hostile and dangerous aggressive nature toward our Republic and, at the same time, another absolute proof of the validity and urgency of the nuclear force development line we have opted for and put into practice,” Kim Yo-jong said.
The North Korean leader’s sister also highlighted other maneuvers conducted around the Korean peninsula, such as Freedom Edge, as “a serious threat not only to the country, but to regional peace and security.
“The increasingly Increasingly hysterical military threats from rivals will further highlight the justice and urgency of our line, and will be implemented with corresponding dynamics and intensity,” he added, calling his country’s nuclear development the “most correct choice.”
The Pionyang’s response comes after South Korea, the United States and Japan conducted combined air drills last Sunday, involving at least a B-1B strategic bomberThe B-1B strategic bomber was launched south of the Korean peninsula in response to Pyongyang’s launch of a new type of inercontinental ballistic missile.
Such bombers, rare on the peninsula until last year, were frequent in its 2017 air drills, when tensions between Pyongyang and Washington reached dangerous levels.
The trilateral drills were conducted over waters east of Jeju Island, south of South Korea, the South Korean military said, in an apparent show of force by the three allied nations following the North’s launch last week.