On New Year’s Eve, North Korea launched three ballistic missiles in what was the latest in a long series of tests this year. The three missiles landed in the Sea of Japan.
The launches occurred at 8:00 local time. These were short-range ballistic missiles launched from North Hwanghae province, just south of the capital Pyongyang.
They flew over eastern North Korea and then crashed into the Sea of Japan outside Japan’s economic zone, according to information from the South Korean General Staff and the Japanese Coast Guard.
The rockets rose to a height of about 100 kilometers and traveled a distance of about 350 kilometers, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported, citing Tokyo’s defense ministry.
North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency had not yet discussed the launches until Saturday, Norwegian time, but reports that the country’s leader Kim Jong-un led a party meeting on Friday to set policy and strategy for 2023.
70 rockets
Excluding Saturday’s test, the country has fired about 70 ballistic missiles on 38 separate occasions this year, according to Yonhap. About eight of the missiles were said to be ICBMs, a type of missile that can be equipped with a nuclear warhead and has sufficient range to hit targets in the United States.
Earlier this week, North Korea reportedly sent five drones into South Korean airspace for the first time since 2017.
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Relations between North Korea and US ally South Korea have become more difficult since conservative Yoon Suk-yeol assumed the presidency in Seoul in May this year. He has promised a tougher line towards North Korea.
Some experts believe that North Korea is looking to perfect its weapons technology and strengthen its influence in future negotiations with the United States.
Sanctions
The Pyongyang regime is subject to severe international sanctions due to the country’s nuclear weapons program.
The number of missile tests has soared after the United States and South Korea resumed large-scale joint military exercises this year. The exercise activity is primarily intended as a deterrent for North Korea.
North Korea has protested strongly and said the country’s missile tests are a response to US military threats.
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Pyongyang’s leadership also vehemently protested when Japan decided earlier this year to nearly double its defense budget to 2 percent of gross domestic product over a five-year period. The Japanese government has argued that this is part of a new strategy to contain threats from North Korea and a more sustained foreign policy from China.
Nuclear fear
Western politicians, pundits and analysts have feared for several months that North Korea might carry out its first nuclear weapon test in several years and what could be the seventh nuclear weapon test in the country’s history.
That has not happened so far, but the country’s extensive missile tests this year have been taken up by the United Nations Security Council. However, the Security Council has been paralyzed because Western countries have failed to agree with Russia and China on reactions against North Korea.
