Reuters restricts month of long-range missile tests in Korea since 2017 Reuters

By Josh Smith and Cynthia Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea launched its largest missile test since 2017 on Sunday, launching a suspicious intermediate ballistic missile into space, taking the country with nuclear weapons one step further to resume long-range testing.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that a single ballistic missile was deemed to have been fired at around 7:52 a.m. (2252 GMT) from North Korea’s Jagang Province from its east coast to the ocean.

The South Korean National Security Council (NSC), which convened a rare emergency meeting chaired by President Moon Jae-in, said the test involved a medium-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that North Korea had not tested since 2017.

The launch brings North Korea one step closer to completely lifting its self-imposed moratorium on its long-range ballistic missile (ICBM) testing, Moon said.

He noted that this month’s missile tests were reminiscent of the heightened tensions in 2017 when North Korea conducted several nuclear tests and fired the largest missiles, including some that flew over Japan.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he is no longer bound by the moratorium, including a halt to nuclear weapons testing, and announced in 2018 that diplomacy and summits with U.S. President Donald Trump.

North Korean authorities have suggested this month that https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nkorea-warns-it-may-rethink-moratorium-nuclear-missile-tests-2022-01-19 may restart these tests . activities because the United States and its allies showed no signs of abandoning their “political enemies.”

“The U.S. condemns these actions and calls on (North Korea) not to take any more unstable action,” the U.S. military said after the Indo-Pacific Command was launched on Sunday.

A U.S. State Department spokesman said the shooting showed the threat posed by North Korea’s illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, and called on Pyongyang to conduct a “permanent and in-depth” interview.

LARGER MISSILES

It is unclear whether IRBMs were included in the Kim moratorium, but these have not been tested since 2017.

South Korean JCS and Japanese Cabinet Secretary-General Hirokazu Matsuno said the missile had reached an altitude of 2,000 km and had flown for 30 minutes at a distance of 800 km. IRBMs typically range from 600 to 3,500 miles, and ICBMs range from over 3,500 miles.

Missile experts said the data could indicate an IRBM test like Hwasong-12, which was last tested in 2017, or a new type.

“Regardless of whether it’s an IRBM or an ICBM, this is a kind of strategic missile and clearly not the same as the previous tests in the January 2022 test series,” said George William Herbert, an adjunct professor at the Center for Non-Proliferation Studies. and a missile consultant said on Twitter (NYSE :).

Launch in January may be the busiest month for North Korea’s missile program https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/flurry-missile-tests-displays-nkoreas-increasingly-diverse-arsenal-2022-01-28, analysts they say it is expanding and developing new capabilities despite the country’s stringent sanctions banning ballistic missile testing and UN Security Council resolutions.

His latest shots were tests of two short-range ballistic missiles and their warheads on Thursday, and tested the updated long-range missile missile system on Tuesday.

Noh Kyu-duk, a special envoy for peace and security on the Korean peninsula in Seoul, made a phone call to his US counterpart Sung Kim. They both condemned North Korea’s latest missile launch.

Noh also made a call to his Japanese counterpart and agreed to continue working to resume talks with North Korea, according to the South Korean government.

‘TESTS BEGINNING’

The test comes less than a week before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, North Korea’s main political and economic partner. Pyongyang said the Games would skip the COVID-19 pandemic and “force the enemy.”

“Kim appears to be stepping up tests to put pressure on Washington and Beijing to put pressure on him before the Olympics,” said Yang Uk, a researcher at the Center for Foreign Policy and National Security.

In a New Year’s Eve speech, Kim Jong Un called for strengthening the military with cutting-edge technology at a time when talks with South Korea and the United States are at a standstill.

Since then, North Korea has tested the type of weapon, the location of the shot, and the greater sophistication as the denuclearization talks remain stagnant.

Jagang province was said to be a “hypersonic missile” by North Korea this month. .

“The launch of ballistic missiles and their predecessors are a threat to our country, the region and the international community,” Matsuno said. “This series of violations violates UN resolutions and we strongly oppose this action by North Korea.”

The NSC in South Korea has condemned the launch as a challenge to resolving violations and international peace efforts, using a stronger language than previous tests, when it usually expressed “great remorse”.

The tests appear to be aimed at modernizing the North Korean military, reinforcing national pride ahead of several major North Korean holidays and sending a message of strength as the country faces economic crises caused by sanctions and the COVID-19 blockade, said Leif-Eric Easley. Professor of International Studies at Ewha University in Seoul.

“The Kim regime listens to external debates about its internal weaknesses and sees South Korea as a growing force,” he said. “So he wants to remind Washington and Seoul that it would be expensive to try to overthrow him.”