SEOUL, South Korea (Transatlantic Today) — According to Japanese and South Korean officials, North Korea launched 2 short-range ballistic missiles on Saturday into its eastern waters, marking the country’s fourth round of missile launches this week in retaliation for rivals’ military exercises.
The 2 North Korean missile launches on Saturday morning were identified by the South Korean military as originating from the capital region of the North 18 minutes apart. The launches were reportedly spotted by Japan’s Defense Ministry as well.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea warned in a statement that North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile launches are a serious provocation that threatens the stability of the Korean Peninsula and the international community.
The launch was severely criticized by South Korea, which also urged North Korea to stop launching ballistic missiles.
Vice-minister of defense for Japan, Toshiro Ino, described the launches as “absolutely impermissible.” He referred to North Korea’s four missile test rounds in a week as “unprecedented.”
The North Korean missiles, according to estimates from Japan and South Korea, traveled 350–400 kilometers (220–250 miles) at a top altitude of 30–50 kilometers (20–30 miles) before touching down in the oceans between Japan and the Korean Peninsula.
Vice Minister Ino of Japan said that the missiles’ trajectory was “irregular.” Similar low trajectories can be seen in the 5 other ballistic missiles that North Korea fired this week on three separate occasions.
According to some analysts, the missiles are highly agile, nuclear-capable missiles based on the Russian Iskander missile. That Iskander-like missile is capable of hitting important South Korean targets, such as American military bases there.
The launches on Saturday come a day after the US, South Korea, and Japan conducted their first trilateral anti-submarine drills in 5 years off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, according to ABC NEWS. Warships from the United States and South Korea engaged in four days of joint training there earlier this week. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group participated in both military exercises this week.
Such military exercises among its adversaries are seen as a mock invasion by North Korea, which frequently responds by conducting its own missile tests.
The United States Vice President Kamala Harris visited South Korea on Thursday and reiterated the “ironclad” American commitment to the protection of its Asian allies. The North Korean missile launches this week also occurred before and after that visit.
In an effort to increase the size of its arsenal in light of the deadlocked nuclear negotiations with the United States, North Korea has conducted a record number of missile launches this year, according to analysts. This year, nuclear-capable missiles with a range that could reach the U.S. mainland, Japan, and South Korea were tested.
North Korea is reportedly ready to perform its first nuclear test in 5 years, according to U.S. and South Korean authorities.
According to experts, Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, eventually wants to use the nation’s expanded nuclear arsenal to exert pressure on the United States and others to recognize his nation as a legitimate nuclear state. He sees this recognition as being necessary to secure the removal of international sanctions as well as other concessions.
The testing of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles by North Korea is prohibited by many Security Council resolutions. The nation’s missile tests this year are perceived as taking advantage of a rift in the U.N. council over Russia’s war in Ukraine and the rivalry between the United States and China.
A U.S.-led effort to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea because of its ballistic missile tests was blocked in May by Russia and China.
