2023-07-18 22:55:00
This firing is the latest in a series of missile tests by Pyongyang, when an American serviceman was probably arrested after voluntarily crossing the border.
By MP with AFP Relations between the two Koreas are currently at one of their all-time lows, as diplomatic relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have stalled and Kim Jong Un has called for accelerated development of weapons , including tactical nuclear weapons. (Illustrative image) © MAXPPP / LANDOV/MAXPPP Published on 07/18/2023 at 10:55 p.m.
North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said on Wednesday, citing South Korea’s military staff. The launch, which comes as Seoul and Washington have stepped up defense cooperation amid rising tensions between the two Koreas, was also reported by the Japanese Coast Guard, according to Japanese news agency Kyodo.
The South Korean military said it was still analyzing the type of missile fired, according to Yonhap. The firing is the latest in a series of missile tests by Pyongyang, and comes less than a week after leader Kim Jong-Un personally supervised the firing of the country’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-18 at solid fuel.
READ ALSOUnited States: Washington intends to defend itself “against any aggression” from North KoreaRelations between the two Koreas are currently at one of their all-time lows, as diplomatic relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have stalled and Kim Jong-Un has called for accelerating the development of weapons, including tactical nuclear weapons. In response, Seoul and Washington have stepped up their defense cooperation, holding major joint military exercises.
An American soldier captured by North Korea
The missile launch also comes as Washington confirmed on Tuesday that an American soldier was likely captured by North Korean soldiers after crossing the heavily guarded fortified border between the two Koreas during a visit in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). “An American serviceman, during a visit, voluntarily and without authorization” crossed the demarcation line, declared Colonel Isaac Taylor, the spokesman for the American forces in South Korea.
READ ALSOCIA report: 2027, year of all dangersAccording to information from the CBS television channel quoting American officials, he is a low-ranking man who was to be brought back to the United States for disciplinary reasons, but who managed to leave the airport and join to a group of visitors to the DMZ. He was then in the “common security zone”, had pointed out the United Nations command a few hours earlier, which had just mentioned an “American citizen” without providing his military status.
“This man gave a loud ‘ha ha ha'”
“We believe he is currently being held in the DPRK (North Korea) and are working with our counterparts in the North Korean People’s Army to resolve this incident,” he said. “We are closely monitoring the situation and investigating,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters. Contacted by AFP, the South Korean Ministry of Defense declined to comment.
“This man gave a loud ‘ha ha ha’ and ran between buildings” after the group he was part of visited one of the buildings on the site, a witness to the scene told CBS News. “At first I thought it was a bad joke, but when he didn’t come back I realized it wasn’t a joke, then everyone reacted and it was madness,” said he said again.
« Panmunjom [Un village frontalier, NDLR] is the site that this American most likely chose to cross in North Korea because it is the only possible place of escape during the visit to the joint security area,” Choi Gi-il told AFP. , a professor of military studies at Sangji University.
#North #Korea #fires #ballistic #missile #East #Sea #soldier #captured