North Korea fired an alleged ballistic missile on Saturday, a new weapons test in a series of projectile launches since the beginning of the year, just days before South Korean presidential elections.
The South Korean Armed Forces said they had detected an alleged “ballistic missile fired towards the East Sea from the (North Korean) Sunan region”.
The South Korean National Security Council in a statement condemned the “unprecedented continuous launch of ballistic missiles” by the North, which it called against peace on the Korean peninsula.
The statement said the South “will monitor North Korea’s nuclear and missile installations even more closely, such as Yongbon and Punggye-re.”
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi also confirmed the launch and reported that the missile flew at a maximum height of 550 km, covering 300 km.
Pyongyang carried out seven weapons tests in January, an unprecedented number, including its most powerful missile since 2017, when leader Kim Jong Un taunted then-President Donald Trump with a series of launches.
Since then, diplomacy has stalled and, despite tough international sanctions, Pyongyang insists on strengthening its military capacity.
In January, North Korea threatened to abandon its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range weapons tests.
It also said on Monday it had conducted a test of “great importance” for the development of a reconnaissance satellite, a day after Seoul revealed it had detected a ballistic missile launch.
– South Korean elections –
The North’s latest test comes at a delicate time for the region, as the South prepares for next Wednesday’s presidential elections, which will define Moon Jae-in’s successor.
One of the favorites, former President Yoon Suk-yeol of the People’s Power Party, has threatened to order preemptive strikes against the northern neighbor if the need arises.
“Kim seems to feel that Moon hasn’t done much since the collapse of the Hanoi summit,” said analyst Ahn Chan-il, a professor of North Korean Studies, referring to the Kim-Trump meeting that failed.
Analysts pointed out that Pyongyang would seek to capitalize on the US government’s distraction from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to carry out more tests.
North Korea accused the US in February of being “the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis”, pointing out in a statement that Washington “meddles” in the internal affairs of other countries when it is convenient, while condemning legitimate “measures”. self-defense” of others.
“With the tests, North Korea seems to say that it is different from Ukraine and reminds the world that it has its own nuclear weapons system,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies.
President Joe Biden’s government has expressed a willingness to meet with North Korean representatives, an offer Pyongyang has ignored.
Analysts believe North Korea could use its upcoming holiday, which will mark the 110th anniversary of the birth of the country’s founder Kim Il Sung on April 15, to organize a major weapons test.
Recent satellite images analyzed by the specialized website 38 North suggest that the country could be preparing a military parade to display its weapons as part of the celebration.
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