North Korea’s Late Night Missile Launch: A Response to U.S.-South Korea Drills?
North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launch
Military authorities’ speculation on the missile type
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North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) into the East Sea late at night. Seen as a response to the application of nuclear operational scenarios agreed between the South Korean and U.S. leaders at the second meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) on the 22nd of last month, it comes 25 days after the failed launch of a solid-fuel propelled medium-range ballistic missile (IRBM).
The military authorities speculate that the missile is a North Korean version of the Iskander (KN-23) type SRBM, which can be fired immediately upon launch command using a mobile launcher (TEL).
JCS’s official announcement of the missile launch
On the 17th, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) conveyed a message to the Defense Ministry press corps, stating, “Our military has detected the launch of what is believed to be a Short-Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM) originating from the Pyongyang region, heading into the East Sea at approximately 10:38 PM.”
The JCS added, “We tracked and monitored the ballistic missile launch by North Korea immediately after its launch, and we have closely shared related information among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan. The detailed specifications are currently under comprehensive analysis.”
They also conveyed, “This provocation by North Korea is a clear, provocative act that violates the ‘UN Security Council Resolution’ that prohibits the use of ballistic missile technology and scientific and technical cooperation.”
Coincidence with Kim Jong Il Memorial Ceremony
This missile provocation by North Korea coincided with the 12th anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death. At the memorial ceremony held at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, prominent figures from the party, government, and military, including Kim Jong Un, Kim Deok Hoon, Jo Yong Won, and Choi Ryong Hae, were in attendance. However, a North Korean marshal, Ri Byung Chol, was notably absent. Following Kim Tae Hyo, the first deputy director of the South Korean National Security Office, visiting the U.S. for the second NCG meeting on the 14th (local time) and publicly stating that North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) provocations would persist this month, he has gone missing.
At that time, South Korea and the U.S. reached an agreement during the meeting to conduct nuclear operation exercises as part of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG), a joint South Korea-U.S. exercise scheduled for next August, in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations.
Preparations for ICBM Launch
JCS also reported that it is closely tracking and monitoring the preparations for a launch at places like Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, which North Korea has been using as an ICBM launch site, as they believe that North Korea’s ICBM launch is imminent.
Following the missile launch, North Korea swiftly responded, as reported by the Ministry of National Defense, strongly condemning the outcome of the second NCG meeting between South Korea and the U.S. as a “clear declaration of nuclear confrontation.”
On the same day, in a statement conveyed by a spokesperson and distributed through the Korean Central News Agency, the Ministry of National Defense commented on the outcomes of the second NCG meeting, which took place in the U.S. on the 15th (local time). The statement read, “The U.S. and South Korean military authorities, who have been significantly impacting the regional situation on the Korean peninsula throughout the past year, appear to be concluding the year with a demonstration of nuclear war capabilities.” The statement went on to strongly criticize this as a “blatant declaration of nuclear confrontation, which assumes the potential use of nuclear weapons against North Korea in emergency scenarios and discusses operational procedures in a real combat context.”
By. Young Hun Park
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