North Korea has launched three short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, the South Korean military has said, in another show of force in a year marked by a record number of such launches.
The heads of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said they had detected “three short-range ballistic missiles launched by North Korea in the East Sea [nome do mar do Japão nas duas Coreias] from Junghwa area of North Hwanghae province [sudoeste] around 08:00 [23h00 de sexta-feira em Lisboa]”, according to a statement.
Initially, the South Korean and Japanese militaries had detected only one ballistic missile.
This latest North Korean launch comes at a time when tensions are at their height on the Korean peninsula and just one day after Seoul conducted a test run of a future solid-fuel space rocket to speed up launch. of military reconnaissance satellites.
This year, North Korea, which is committed to a five-year plan to modernize its weapons and remains completely closed to the outside due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has launched almost fifty projectiles of different types.
In the second half of the year, North Korea’s tests have been a response to joint US-South Korean military exercises, which Pyongyang sees as preparation for an invasion.
Faced with the regime’s refusal to resume diplomacy and the insistence on reinforcing the arsenal, Seoul and Washington have resumed major military maneuvers since May and have chosen to respond to Pyongyang’s tests with the rotational deployment of US strategic assets on the peninsula, which that sped up a cycle. of action and reaction, viewed with great concern by many observers.
The latest statement also came as North Korea’s single party holds a grand plenum in Pyongyang to set the agenda for 2023. The closing speech, delivered by leader Kim Jong-un, is expected to be released on Sunday and may include messages for the US or South Korea.
Source: Observadora
