SEOUL, May 25 (Reuters) – North Korea fired three missiles, including one believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), on Wednesday after US President Joe Biden left Asia after a trip he agreed to. new measures to deter nuclear energy – armed situation.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea (JCS) said the three missiles were fired in less than an hour from the Sunan area of the northern capital Pyongyang, where the international airport has become a missile test center.
The first missile fired on Wednesday appears to be the ICBM, while a second unidentified missile appears to have failed in flight, JCS said. The third missile is a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), the statement said.
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In response, the United States and South Korea conducted combined live fire exercises, including ground-to-surface missile tests involving the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and the southern Hyunmoo-2 SRBM missile, both military said.
“The demonstration of the strength of our military was intended to underscore our determination to respond firmly to any North Korean provocation, including the launch of the ICBM, and our enormous ability and willingness to surge the origins of the provocation,” the JCS said in a statement. statement.
North Korea has carried out a series of rocket launches this year, from hypersonic weapons to test launches of its largest ICBM for the first time in nearly five years. He also seems to be preparing for what will be his first nuclear test in 2017.
U.S. and South Korean officials recently warned that North Korea appears ready for a new weapons test, possibly during Biden’s visit, which was his first trip to Asia as president and included a summit with South Korean President Yun Suk Yol in Seoul.
Yun, who took office on May 10, convened his first meeting of the National Security Council, which strongly condemned the latest launch as a “serious provocation”, especially when it happened before Biden returned home.
Yunn ordered the aides to step up expanded US deterrence and a combined defensive stance, as agreed with Biden, his office said.
“North Korea’s ongoing provocations will only lead to an even stronger, faster deterrence of South Korea and the United States and will lead to deeper isolation,” the Yun government said in a separate statement.
A White House spokesman said Biden, who left Japan on Tuesday night, had been informed of the launches and would continue to receive updates.
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also agreed to step up diplomatic efforts to step up expanded deterrence and facilitate a new UN resolution on sanctions in a telephone conversation, the Seoul ministry said.
A woman watches television broadcast a news report on the launch of three missiles from North Korea, which appear to have included an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), in Seoul, South Korea, May 25, 2022. REUTERS / Kim Hong-Ji
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“We call on the DPRK to refrain from further provocations and to engage in a permanent and substantial dialogue,” a State Department spokesman said, using the initials of North Korea’s official name.
SHOW OF POWER
Pyongyang resumed ICBM tests in late March, ending its 2017 self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests, amid stalled denuclearization talks with Washington. Read more
In Wednesday’s test, the alleged ICBM flew 360 km (223.7 miles) to a maximum altitude of 540 km, while the SRBM flew 760 km to a maximum altitude of 60 km, JCS reported.
Japan has reported at least two launches, one of which flew about 300 km and reached a maximum altitude of 550 km, and the other – about 750 km (465 miles) and a maximum altitude of 50 km, said the Japanese Minister of Defense.
Japanese operator NHK said the missiles appeared to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Japanese Cabinet Secretary-General Hirokazu Matsuno said the North could take more provocative action, including a nuclear test.
The U.S. military’s Indo-Pacific command said it was aware of “multiple” launches. They emphasized the “destabilizing impact of the DPRK’s illegal weapons program”, but did not pose an immediate threat.
In Seoul over the weekend, Biden and Yun agreed to conduct larger military exercises and deploy more US strategic assets if necessary to deter North Korea’s growing arms tests. Read more
But they also offered to send COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea as the isolated country struggles with its first confirmed outbreak, and called on Pyongyang to return to diplomacy. Read more
There was no response from Pyongyang to diplomatic initiatives or proposals for assistance, Biden said at the time.
In the fading hours of Biden’s visit to the region, Russian and Chinese bombers also flew joint patrols near Japan’s and South Korea’s air defense zones on Tuesday in a sharp farewell. Read more
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Report by Hyonhee Shin; additional reports by Su-Hyang Choi and Josh Smith in Seoul, David Dolan and Mariko Katsumura in Tokyo and David Brunstrom, Philip Stewart, Kanishka Singh and Eric Beach in Washington; edited by Richard Pullin and Gary Doyle
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