The regime fired two suspected ballistic missiles on Monday, according to Seoul, in what appears to be its fourth weapons test since the beginning of the year.
Despite international sanctions, the Pyongyang regime continued to launch North Korea, including a hypersonic missile in the framework of the arms race launched by the leader Kim Jong Un to strengthen the country’s armed forces.
two assumptions short-range ballistic missiles They were launched from an airport in Pyongyang early Monday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Japan Coast Guard also confirmed the release.
Fired at 09:00 local time, they traveled about 380 kilometers at an altitude of 42 km, according to South Korean sources.
The frequency and variety of tests conducted this year indicate that North Korea “is trying to improve its technological and operational capabilities in terms of coverage actions”, said the Japanese defense minister, Nobuo Kishi, to the press.
Indeed, It would be the fourth weapons test of Pyongyang so far this year.
North Korea claimed to have successfully launched the 5 and 11 January hypersonic missiles, especially sophisticated weapons. The second launch was personally supervised by Kim Jong Un.
The North Korean leader called for the development of more “military strategic fortress” after the test.
In response to the launches, the United States last week imposed new sanctions on five North Koreans linked to the ballistic missile programs, which Pyongyang called a “provocation”.
North Korea has the “legitimate right” to defend himself, a Foreign Ministry spokesman told the official KCNA agency.
If “the United States adopts a confrontational posture, the DPRK (North Korea) will have to take a stronger and more accurate reaction, the spokesman said quoted Friday by KCNA.
A South Korean expert said Monday that the new test seemed to be a message destined for the United States.
North Korea and train to China
“The North seems to be sending to the United States a message in response to sanctions (…) He is indicating that he will continue with the tests despite the criticism,” he said. Hong Min, of the Korea Institute for National Unification, in Seoul.
Pyongyang has stepped up its military modernization program despite the harsh international sanctions it faces.
The dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang remains stagnant and the Asian country maintains a rigid closure due to the covid-19 that has hit its economy.
The last test coincided with the freight train crossing the Yalu River Railway Bridge to China, on Sunday, the Yonhap news agency reported.
The crossing could signal a resumption of overland trade between China and North Korea, Suspended for about two years due to the pandemic.
“Amid a flurry of missile launches, North Korea appears to have resumed its cross-border trade with China by train,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
“The timing suggests that Beijing is more than complicit in Pyongyang’s provocations; China is supporting North Korea economically and coordinate with their military he added.
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