North Korea Fires Long-Range Ballistic Missile, Heightening Tensions with South Korea and US
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) – On Wednesday, North Korea fired what appears to be a long-range ballistic missile from the Pyongyang area towards the waters off its east coast, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. This latest missile launch marks a potential new round of confrontation between North Korea, Seoul, and Washington.
Japan’s Coast Guard reported that the missile was launched at 9:59 a.m. local time and fell into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, at 11:15 a.m. The Coast Guard has warned ships in the area to exercise caution and be alert for further information.
If confirmed, the flight time of the missile would be similar to the intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) tested by North Korea earlier this year in March and April. These ICBMs have the range to hit the continental United States.
The missile launch comes after Pyongyang’s recent threat to shoot down US military reconnaissance planes that fly over nearby waters in the East Sea. Kim Yo Jong, a senior North Korean official and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accused a US spy plane of entering the North’s exclusive economic zone at least eight times on Monday, according to a statement from North Korea’s state news agency KCNA. “In case of repeated illegal intrusion, the US forces will experience a very critical flight,” Kim warned in the statement.
The missile launch and fiery rhetoric from North Korea come amid heightened tensions as Washington and Seoul increase their defense cooperation. The leaders of South Korea, Japan, and the United States are currently in Lithuania for a NATO summit, where North Korea is on the agenda.
On Tuesday, a communique from the NATO meeting urged North Korea to abandon its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs, which are in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. The communique called on North Korea to accept the repeated offers of dialogue put forward by Japan, the United States, and South Korea. However, North Korea has shown no signs of willingness to engage in negotiations with Washington or Seoul.
Experts believe that Kim Yo Jong’s bellicose statement against US surveillance aircraft is part of a North Korean pattern of inflating external threats to rally domestic support and justify weapons tests. Leif-Eric Easley, an associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, stated, “Pyongyang also times its shows of force to disrupt what it perceives as diplomatic coordination against it, in this case, South Korea and Japan’s leaders meeting during the NATO summit.”
Last month, tens of thousands of North Koreans participated in anti-US rallies in Pyongyang, denouncing the US as the “Destroyer of peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula.” They also warned of nuclear war, according to KCNA.
Meanwhile, South Korea, the United States, and Japan have been conducting joint and trilateral military exercises to deter any military threat from North Korea.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.