North Korean dictator attends hypersonic missile launch
The Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, attended Tuesday with his sister Kim Yo Jong and senior officials the launch of a hypersonic missile into the waters of the Sea of Japan, known in Korea as the East Sea. The dictator reappears in public after almost two years without attending such events and amid the condemnations of the UN Security Council on the first missile of January 5.
According to reports collected by local media, Kim Jong-un has been satisfied with the launch and has confirmed that it has been carried out to test the technical specifications of his new weapons system, as reported by the South Korean news agency Yonhap. Only a few hours after the joint statement of condemnation by the UN Security Council on the first missile, which was launched on January 5, the North Korean country has carried out another operation towards the waters of the Sea of Japan, an action that was confirmed, first, by the South Korean authorities and later by the Japanese country.
The North Korean leader attended a meeting on Tuesday with key members in the field of research and development of hypersonic weapons systems in which officer Pak Jong-chon, who is part of the presidium of the unique formation, was not present. led the test of the mobile missile system fired from a train in September.
At the same meeting, Kim Jong-un called for “modernizing the army” and stressed that “the field of defense research should continue to have good successes” to “drastically” strengthen the country, according to the news portal ‘NK News’.
The Japan Coast Guard explained that the projectile fell around 7:29 am on Tuesday and reported that there was no damage related to ships. He also appealed to ships in transit to be aware of future information. In addition, Japanese authorities confirmed that the ballistic missile had landed outside its exclusive economic zone, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told a press conference.
South Korea’s presidential National Security Council (NSC) expressed “strong regret” for the event at a time “when stabilizing the political situation is crucial.” For their part, the members of the Security Council assured that North Korea poses a “threat to international peace and security”, since each missile launch serves to “improve its capabilities”, as well as improve its weapons “to export to your customers’ all over the world.
“This launch is the latest in a series of launches (which) shows North Korea’s determination to expand its illegal weapons capabilities (…) They increase the risk of escalation and pose a significant threat to regional stability,” they stated. in a joint statement the United States and the representatives of the member states of Albania, the United Kingdom, Japan, Ireland and France.
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