North Korea launches missile into sea, while US warns of nuclear

Seoul, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Friday in its first ballistic weapons launch in two weeks, as the U.S. military warned North Korea that the use of nuclear weapons would “consequence”. the end of this regime.”

South Korean military detected two launches from the North’s east coast Tongchon area at noon on Friday, Seoul’s Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. He said both missiles flew about 230 kilometers (140 miles) at a maximum altitude of 24 kilometers (15 miles).

The statement said South Korea strongly condemned the launches and described them as a “serious provocation” that undermines regional peace and violates UN Security Council resolutions banning any ballistic activity by North Korea.

The US Indo-Pacific Command said the launches highlighted the “destabilizing effect” of North Korea’s illegal nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. The Japanese Ministry of Defense said that it also detected the launch of missiles and that the type of missiles used and flight information are still being analyzed.

Shortly after the launch of the nuclear weapons, South Korea’s top nuclear envoy had separate phone calls with his US and Japanese counterparts, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said. The trio agreed to strengthen trilateral coordination in North Korea, while reiterating their calls for North Korea to cease weapons tests and return to negotiations.

The back-to-back launches, the North’s first ballistic missile tests since October 14, took place on the last day of South Korea’s 12-day annual “Hoguk” field exercises this year, which included an unspecified number of US troops. The South Korean and US air forces also plan to conduct extensive training next week.

While Allies say the exercises are defensive in nature, North Korea sees such regular exercises by Seoul and Washington as a practice to launch an attack on the North.

Next week’s “Awake Storm” air exercises will run from Monday to Friday and will include about 140 South Korean warplanes and about 100 US aircraft. The South Korean Ministry of Defense said earlier on Friday that the planes included advanced warplanes such as the F-35 from both countries.

Since the end of September, North Korea has launched a seaward barrage of missiles, which it calls simulated tests of tactical nuclear weapons systems designed to attack South Korean and US targets. North Korea said its testing activities were intended to provide a warning during a series of South Korea-US military exercises. But some experts say Pyongyang is using its rivals’ exercises as a chance to test new weapons systems, increase its nuclear capability, and increase influence in future deals with Washington and Seoul.

Tongchon, the launch site for the North’s Friday launches, is about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the inter-Korean land border. According to South Korea’s Ministry of Defense, the area was closer to South Korean territory than any other missile launch site North Korea has used so far this year.

South Korea and the United States have strongly warned North Korea against using its nuclear weapons as a preemptive measure.

Any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies and partners will “result in the end of this regime,” the Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy report, released Thursday, said.

“There is no scenario where the Kim regime will use nuclear weapons and survive,” the report said. The Pentagon said it would continue to deter North Korean attacks through “forward stance”, including nuclear deterrence, integrated air and missile defense, and close coordination and interoperability with South Korea.

During a visit to Tokyo on Tuesday, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman reiterated that the US will make full use of its military capabilities “including nuclear” to defend its allies South Korea and Japan.

Last month, South Korea’s Ministry of Defense warned North Korea that using nuclear weapons would put it on a “path of self-destruction.”

There are concerns that the North could raise the bar in the coming weeks by conducting its first nuclear test since 2017.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on Thursday that a new nuclear test explosion by North Korea “will be another confirmation of a program that is in full swing in an incredibly worrying way”.

He said the UN agency was monitoring preparations for a new test, which would be the North’s seventh overall, but gave no indication of whether an atomic explosion was imminent.

In recent days, North Korea has also fired hundreds of artillery shells at the inter-Korean maritime buffer zones that the two Koreas established in 2018 to reduce military tensions at the front. North Korea said the artillery fire was a response to actual shooting exercises in South Korea’s land border areas.

On Monday, rival Koreans fired warning shots along the disputed western maritime border, which has seen bloodshed and naval battles in the past, as they accuse each other of violating the border.

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Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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