SEOUL, June 5 (Reuters) – North Korea fired eight short-range ballistic missiles at sea off its east coast on Sunday, arguably its biggest single test, a day after South Korea and the United States ended joint military exercises.
For the first time in more than four years, an American aircraft carrier is taking part in the bilateral exercises.
At least eight rockets have been fired from the Sunan area of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea.
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Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi also said the North had fired a number of missiles and that the act “cannot be tolerated”. He told a briefing that at least one missile had a variable trajectory, indicating that it could maneuver to evade missile defense.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile launches underscored the destabilizing impact of its illicit weapons program, but that the event did not pose an immediate threat.
Michael Duitsman of the US-based Non-Proliferation Research Center James Martin (CNS) said it appeared to be the largest single test ever conducted by North Korea. A large number of missiles also implies military training or a demonstration of strength, rather than a test of new technology.
The launch was followed by a visit to Seoul by US Specialist for North Korea, US Special Representative Sung Kim, who left on Saturday.
He met with South Korean and Japanese counterparts Kim Gong and Takehiro Funakoshi on Friday to prepare for “all emergencies” amid signs that North Korea is preparing to conduct a nuclear test for the first time since 2017. read more
Washington has made it very clear directly to Pyongyang that it is open to diplomacy, Kim said during the visit, noting that he was ready to discuss issues of interest to Pyongyang, such as easing sanctions.
Last week, the United States called for more UN sanctions against North Korea for its ballistic missile launches, but China and Russia vetoed the proposal by publicly splitting the UN Security Council over North Korea for the first time since it began punishing it in 2006, when North Korea conducted its first nuclear test.
In recent weeks, North Korea has tested a number of missiles, including its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
North Korea’s last test was on May 25, when it fired three missiles after US President Joe Biden cut off a trip to Asia, where he agreed to new measures to deter the nuclear state.
The first missile appears to be the largest intercontinental Balkan missile in the North, the Hwasong-17, while a second unspecified missile appears to have failed in flight, South Korean officials said at the time. The third missile was a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM).
South Korean and American ships ended three days of international exercises off the Japanese island of Okinawa on Saturday, including air defense, anti-ship, anti-submarine and naval operations, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The exercises included the USS Ronald Reagan, a 100,000-ton nuclear aircraft carrier, among other major warships.
South Korean President Yun Suk Yol, who took office on May 10, agreed with Biden to increase bilateral military exercises to deter North Korea.
North Korea has criticized previous joint exercises as an example of Washington’s ongoing “hostile policy” toward Pyongyang, despite talks on diplomacy.
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Report by Byungwook Kim and Josh Smith; Additional reports by Junko Fujita in Tokyo; Edited by Leslie Adler, Lisa Schumacher and Raju Gopalakrishnan
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