Photo: Collected
North Korea has fired a ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s military has said. Seoul said the missile launched on Saturday morning travelled more than 700 kilometres.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement that the missile was launched from Wonsan, a port city on North Korea’s east coast, and it flew more than 700 kilometres over the sea to the east of the Korean peninsula.
After the launch, the South Korean president’s national security office called an emergency meeting to review the situation. The president’s office said in a statement that the officials concerned sat in an emergency meeting on the security situation after the missile launch.
South Korea’s military has also issued an alert amid fears that North Korea may launch more missiles. Besides, Seoul said intelligence information related to the missile launch will be exchanged with the United States and Japan.
Japan also broadcast an emergency message on Saturday alerting its citizens. The country’s alert said North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile.
The United States’ Pacific Command has also said it is keeping the matter under observation. In a social media post, it said the United States is consulting closely with its allies and partners on this. However, it also said that according to the initial assessment, this launch has not posed any immediate threat to US personnel, US territory or allies.
Fresh tension with South Korea
A day before North Korea’s latest missile launch, Kim Yo Jong, sister of the country’s powerful leader Kim Jong Un, sharply ridiculed South Korea’s demand.
Seoul had recently called on North Korea to apologise over a landmine explosion in the border area. South Korea and the US-led United Nations Command claim the explosion occurred because North Korean soldiers planted mines south of the border line.
Three South Korean soldiers were seriously injured in the incident. They were then on a surveillance operation in the demilitarised zone, about four kilometres wide, that divides the Korean peninsula.
South Korea has also called on North Korea to stop its recent activities of strengthening military infrastructure, such as planting landmines and building anti-tank barriers in the border area. However, Kim Yo Jong has outright rejected these demands of Seoul. Describing South Korea’s demand as ‘utterly pathetic’, she said North Korea is moving on the path of permanently severing relations with South Korea.
Pyongyang stepping up show of military strength
Saturday’s missile launch is the latest in a series of military activities by North Korea in recent weeks. Earlier, the country tested a purported hypersonic missile system, conducted various kinds of live-fire and military drills and also recently added a new warship to its fleet.
Tension is rising afresh on the Korean peninsula with these military activities one after another. South Korea, the United States and Japan have long been expressing concern, particularly over North Korea’s missile programme.
The latest launch came at a time when tension between North and South Korea over border security, military installations and the future relationship of the two countries has intensified further. As a result, Seoul and its allies see this new missile launch as a continuation of Pyongyang’s recent show of military strength. Source: Al Jazeera
