North Korea fired three short-range ballistic
missiles Saturday, the US military said,
reviving tensions with Washington after
President Donald Trump had said Pyongyang
was starting to show some “respect”.
The launches come as tens of thousands of
South Korean and US troops take part in joint
military drills in the south of the peninsula,
which the North views as highly provocative.
Following an initial US assessment saying
that two of the missiles had “failed in flight”, a
spokesman for the US Pacific Command later
said the two weapons had not failed but “flew
approximately 250 kilometres (155 miles) in a
northeastern direction”.
One of the three missiles blew up “almost
immediately”, with none of the weapons
posing a threat to either North America or the
US territory of Guam, the spokesman said.
Lee Il-Woo, an analyst at Korea Defence
Network, said the launches represented a
“low-level provocative act” carried out in
response to the US-South Korea exercises,
which are seen by Pyongyang as a rehearsal
for an invasion of its own territory.
The joint exercises started Monday at a time
of heightened tensions between Pyongyang
and Washington after two successful
intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM)
launches carried out by North Korea last
month apparently brought most of the United
States into range for the first time.
Analyst Yang Uk at the Korea Defence and
Security Forum told AFP the latest launches
by Pyongyang were “carefully calibrated… to
avoid revving up tensions too high beyond its
control”.
The launches, which took place over a span of
30 minutes, came as North Korean state
media reported that leader Kim Jong-Un
oversaw a military exercise simulating a
special forces assault on South Korean border
islands involving aircraft, “multiple-missile
launchers” and howitzers.
Wiped out the enemy
Shells hit islands standing in for South
Korea’s Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands
while special forces landed in rubber boats or
parachuted in and “wiped out the desperate
enemy with various combat methods”, the
Korean Central News Agency said.
The North bombarded Yeonpyeong island in
November 2010 in response to a South Korean
live-fire drill near the tense sea border, killing
four South Koreans — two soldiers and two
civilians — and prompting Seoul to return the
fire.
“Kim Jong-Un expressed great satisfaction
over the successful target-striking contest,” it
said.
North Korea’s ICBM launches last month
triggered an intense warning by Trump that
Washington could rain “fire and fury” on the
North.
Pyongyang then threatened to fire a salvo of
missiles towards the US territory of Guam, but
later backed away from the plan and tensions
had eased.
Trump said Wednesday that Kim Jong-Un was
“starting to respect” the United States, hours
after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said talks
with the nuclear-armed North over its banned
weapons programmes might be possible “in
the near future”.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders
said Saturday that Trump was aware of the
launches.
“In regards to activity in North Korea tonight,
the president has been briefed and we are
monitoring the situation,” she said.
We must respond firmly
Neither Japan nor South Korea confirmed the
US military’s description of the weapons fired
by North Korea as “ballistic
missiles”.
South Korea’s defence ministry said
“unidentified projectiles”, fired at 6:49 am
(2149 GMT Friday), flew some 250 kilometres
towards the Sea of Japan.
“They could be ballistic missiles but they
could be rockets. We are now analysing,” said
Japan’s Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera,
adding that they did not fly on a “lofted”
trajectory.
The North’s missiles have alarmed Japan
since a Taepodong-1 overflew its territory in
1998.
In April 2009, Pyongyang launched a long-
range rocket which flew over Japan in what it
said was an attempt to put a satellite into
orbit, but which was seen by the US, Japan
and South Korea as a disguised test of a
Taepodong-2.
Under Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang has made
rapid strides in its ballistic missile technology
in violation of UN resolutions, and it has been
penalised by seven sets of sanctions.
“We understand that today’s action indicated
North Korea consistently continues developing
nuclear weapons and missiles. We have to
respond firmly,” said Onodera, reports punchng.com.
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