SEOUL, Sept. 25 (BNA) North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea off its eastern coast on Sunday, ahead of planned military exercises by South Korean and US forces that include an aircraft carrier and the US Vice President’s visit to the region. Kamala Harris.
South Korea’s military said one short-range ballistic missile was fired from near Taichun District in North Pyongyang Province before 7 a.m. local time and flew about 600 kilometers at an altitude of 60 kilometers at Mach speed. 5, Reuters reports.
“North Korea’s ballistic missile launch is a serious provocative act that threatens peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and the international community,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
It added that after the launch, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Sung-kyeom and Commander of US Forces in Korea Paul LaCamera discussed the situation and confirmed their readiness to respond to any threat or provocation from North Korea.
South Korea’s National Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss response measures, and condemned the launch as a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and an unjustified provocative act.
The presidential office said South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol, who arrived in Seoul late Saturday from a trip to Britain, the United States and Canada, has been briefed on the launch.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Japan had estimated that the missile had reached a maximum altitude of 50 km and may have flown in an irregular trajectory.
Hamadeh said it is outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone and there have been no reports of problems with shipping or air traffic.
Experts have said that many of the short-range missiles North Korea has tested in recent years are designed to evade missile defenses by maneuvering in flight and in a low “low” trajectory.
“If it includes cruise missile launches, this is the 19th launch, which is an unprecedented speed,” Hamadeh said.
“North Korea’s action is a threat to the peace and security of our country, the region and the international community, and to do so with the development of the Ukrainian invasion is inexcusable,” he said, adding that Japan lodged a protest through the North Korean embassy in Beijing.
In a statement issued after the launch, the US Indian and Pacific Command said it was aware of the launch process and consulted closely with allies, while reaffirming the US commitment to defending South Korea and Japan.
“While we have assessed that this event does not pose a direct threat to US personnel, territory, or our allies, the missile launch highlights the destabilizing impact of the DPRK’s WMD and ballistic missile programs,” he added.
joint exercises
The launch comes after the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan arrived in South Korea to participate in a four-day joint drill with South Korean forces from Sept. 26-29, and ahead of a scheduled visit to Seoul this week earlier. Harris.
It was the first time North Korea carried out such a launch after launching eight short-range ballistic missiles in a single day in early June, leading the United States to demand more sanctions for violating UN Security Council resolutions.
North Korea rejects UN resolutions as a violation of its sovereign right to self-defense and space exploration, and has criticized previous joint exercises by the United States and South Korea as evidence of their hostile policies.
The exercises were also criticized by Russia and China, which called on all parties not to take steps that would increase tensions in the region, and called for sanctions relief.
After North Korea conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests this year, including its intercontinental ballistic missiles for the first time since 2017, the United States and South Korea said they would step up joint exercises and a military show of force to deter Pyongyang.
“Defense exercises will not prevent North Korean missile tests,” said Leif Eric Easley, professor of international affairs at Eha University in Seoul.
He added that US-South Korea security cooperation helps deter a North Korean attack and counter Pyongyang’s coercion, and allies should not let provocations prevent them from conducting the military exercises and exchanges necessary to maintain the alliance.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported on Saturday that North Korea may also be preparing to test a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), citing the South Korean military.