SEOUL, South Korea (Washington Insider Magazine) – North Korea fired a long-range missile into the open sea on Sunday, according to its neighbors, in a restart of weapons testing as the US and its allies concentrate on Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The launch by North Korea was the 8th this year and the 1st since January 30. According to some analysts, North Korea is attempting to develop its weapons technology in order to compel the US into making concessions such as sanctions relief in the midst of long-stalled disarmament discussions. According to them, North Korea may use the United States’ concern with the Ukraine war as an opportunity to ramp up testing without fear of a major retaliation from Washington.
The North Korean missile traveled around 190 miles at the highest altitude of around 370 miles prior to actually landing off North Korea’s eastern coast and beyond Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone, according to Japanese Minister Of Defense Nobuo Kishi. According to him, no damage to boats or planes has been recorded.
Officials from South Korea claimed they had also identified the launching from the North’s capital region and voiced “deep concern and grave regret” over it.
Later Sunday, the US Indo-Pacific Command denounced the launch and urged North Korea to desist from additional provocative actions. Though Sunday’s launch did not represent an imminent danger to US territory or those of its allies, the US pledge to the defense of Japan and South Korea “remains ironclad,” according to a command statement.
The launch occurred the day after North Korea issued its first statement on the Ukraine conflict in the form of an essay written by a government expert in which he showed support for Russia while criticizing the US.
Prior to its collapse in the early 1990s, the former Soviet Union was North Korea’s largest assistance supplier. Russian President Putin has been attempting to normalize relations with North Korea in what is viewed as an effort to reclaim Russia’s old spheres of influence and obtain additional friends to better cope with the US.
According to NBC NEWS, Leif-Eric Easley, a senior lecturer at Ewha University in Seoul, the Biden office must demonstrate that it retains a strategic approach on the Indo-Pacific area, especially by forcefully reacting to Pyongyang’s provocations.
North Korea launched 7 missile tests this month, setting a new monthly record after supreme leader Kim Jong Un seized control in late 2011. North Korea stopped testing when the Winter Olympics began earlier this month in China, the last of its significant ally and economic lifeline. After the Olympics, several analysts believed that North Korea would restart missile launches and perhaps test larger weapons.
