The South Korean military announced that North Korea had fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on Saturday, hours after the United States warned of the possibility of resuming Pyongyang’s nuclear tests.
“Our military detected that a short-range ballistic missile allegedly SLBM was fired from the sea at around 14:07 (02:07 GMT) in South Hamgyong, Sinpo,” the South Korean Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
Since the beginning of the year, North Korea has significantly increased its ballistic tests and launches.
Saturday’s shooting came shortly before the country’s 15th show of force and new South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s inauguration next Tuesday, more hostile to Pyongyang than his predecessor, Moon Jae-yeol.
The United States, meanwhile, assured Friday that North Korea could prepare a nuclear test this month for the first time since 2017.
According to the Japanese Coast Guard, citing the defense ministry, Pyongyang launched an object that was “probably a ballistic missile” today.
Last week, during a major military parade, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to develop his nuclear forces “as soon as possible” and warned of possible “preemptive” attacks, as the future South Korean president put it.
On Friday, Washington warned, through diplomatic spokesperson Jalina Porter, that Pyongyang is “preparing the Punggye-ri test site and may be ready to conduct what would be the seventh nuclear test this month.”
“This analysis is consistent with North Korea’s recent public statements,” he added, and assured that the U.S. government would maintain “close coordination” with its allies.
arms race
US President Joe Biden will visit Japan and South Korea this month, and one of the topics he will address during his visit will be Pyongyang.
This latest statement could be related to Biden’s visit or Yoon’s inauguration Tuesday, who promised a hard line with his northern neighbor.
“The Kim regime appears to be preparing to test a tactical nuclear warhead rather than accepting invitations to dialogue,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
North Korea has imposed a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range weapons testing amid the diplomatic rapprochement between Kim and then-US President Donald Trump that failed in 2019 and has since stalled.
Pyongyang has conducted six nuclear weapons tests since 2006. The last and most powerful was done in 2017 with a 250 kiloton hydrogen bomb.
“A seventh nuclear test will be the first since September 2017 and will fuel tensions on the Korean peninsula, increasing the dangers of miscalculation and miscommunication between the Kim regime and Yoon’s new government,” Easley said. Said.
South Korea has more conventional weapons capabilities than its northern neighbor, and Yoon has called for more US military presence.
In 2021, Seoul tested supersonic missiles launched from a submarine.
On Wednesday, Pyongyang fired what Seoul and Tokyo described as a ballistic missile, but North Korean state media, which usually reports on the tests, made no mention of it.
For Hong Min, a researcher at the Korea National Unification Institute, “Today’s launch is similar to Wednesday’s ballistic missile.”
“The North appears to be conducting a series of tests to achieve its strategic goals,” he said.
So far, negotiations to persuade Kim Jong Un to give up nuclear weapons have failed.
For five years, South Korean President Moon Jae-in pursued a policy of dialogue with Pyongyang, but this “slavery” approach was a blatant failure, according to his successor.
Analysts say Kim Jong Un may be signaling that he is not open to dialogue with the new government with this evidence.
source: Noticias
