It also hearkened back to the autumn of 2017 when Kim’s regime unleashed its largest barrage of long-range rockets and detonated a nuclear bomb. The missile that flew over Japan on Tuesday was a suspected Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile that traveled a distance of about 4,600 kms, representing the longest-range weapon fired by North Korea since May. 25 and also coincided with a visit to Japan and South Korea by US Vice President Kamala Harris.įurther provocations may be coming with US, Japan and South Korea saying Pyongyang may be ready to conduct its first nuclear test in five years - with the three pledging a stern and united response if there’s a blast. His latest barrage, which has so far totaled 10 missiles, began on Sept. Kim has fired off a record number of ballistic missiles this year as he has modernized his arsenal with weapons that increase his ability to deliver a credible nuclear strike against US allies in the region and the American homeland. Questions about his health may come to the surface if he doesn’t show up for celebrations on Monday to mark the anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party - one of the biggest events on the country’s calendar. Meanwhile, leader Kim has been out of the public eye for more than three weeks in his longest absence of the year. Since April, North Korea’s official media has refrained from commenting on the tests so the statement from the Foreign Ministry is the closest link revealing the thinking behind a provocation for months. It has also long complained about US nuclear assets in the region such as aircraft carriers and warplanes in Guam that have the ability to carry atomic weapons. North Korea has bristled for decades against joint exercises with the US, calling them a prelude to an invasion and nuclear war. The drills included exercises to track missiles and then intercept them, it said. Japan, South Korea and the US conducted joint naval drills Thursday after the latest launch to counter missile threats from North Korea, which involved the USS Ronald Reagan group, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The group has been in the Pacific to the east of Japan, US Naval Institute News, which tracks the movement of the groups, reported. The aircraft carrier group was redeployed Wednesday to waters between South Korea and Japan, making a rare U-turn that came after Kim fired the missile over Japan. The US Indo-Pacific Command said it was aware of the test that it called “destabilizing,” and closely consulting with allies and partners. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the latest launch “unacceptable.” He spoke with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday for about 25 minutes, Yoon’s office said. The first missile flew about 350 kilometers (220 miles) and reached an altitude of about 80 kms and the second flew a distance of about 800 kms with an apogee of 60 kms, it said.īiden, Kishida Condemn North Korean Missile Launch Over Japan South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea appeared to have test-fired two short-range missiles from an area near Pyongyang at 6:01 and 6:23 a.m. “The DPRK is watching the US posing a serious threat to the stability of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in its vicinity by redeploying the carrier task force in the waters off the Korean Peninsula,” the North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on state media, referring to the country’s formal name. The group first arrived in the South Korean port of Busan in late September and conducted drills that included Japan and South Korea - a move that Pyongyang protested. It came shortly after North Korea condemned the Biden administration for redeploying the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier group to waters east of the peninsula, saying the move escalated tensions. The missile launches off North Korea’s east coast Thursday added to one of its biggest barrage of tests under leader Kim Jong Un, including its first launch of a rocket over Japan in five years. aircraft carrier had been deployed, ratcheting up tensions in the region. (Bloomberg) - North Korea fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles toward waters where a U.S.
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