source of photos, KCNA via EPA
On July 4, 2017, North Korea unveiled the Hwasong-14 ICBM.
This time, North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-17. This is the seventh ICBM launch this year. However, it is said that after the separation of the second stage, he could not fly normally and crashed into the Eastern Sea.
On the 3rd, the South Korean joint chief of staff stated that North Korea launched a ballistic missile, presumably an ICBM, from the Sunan area in Pyongyang around 7:40 am on the same day in the East Sea. The high-angle launch was detected at a maximum altitude of about 1920km and a flight distance of 760km.
Military authorities are said to believe this is the latest ICBM, the Hwasong-17.
It was once said in Japan that the missile had crossed the Japanese archipelago, but it is said that this is not true.
About an hour later, North Korea also launched two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) from the Gaecheon area in southern Pyongan province.
A flight range of approximately 330 km has been detected and is assumed to be a series of North Korean version of Iskander (KN-23), North Korean version of Atakims (KN-24) and super-large multiple rocket launcher (KN-25).
In response, President Yun Seok-yeol said: “As North Korea is raising the bar of provocations, do your best in the combined ROK-US defense position so that there are no gaps in the protection of life and of people’s safety “.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff also said: “North Korea’s consecutive ballistic missile launches are a serious provocation that damages the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the international community, and is a clear violation of Council resolutions. of United Nations security. “.
Previously, on the 2nd, North Korea fired at least 25 missiles four times in a 10-hour period. Another 100 artillery rounds continued.
Notably, an SRBM crashed near Sokcho and Ulleungdo in Gangwon-do, south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), and the first air raid warning was issued over Ulleungdo.
This is the first time that a North Korean ballistic missile has landed near South Korean territorial waters south of the NLL.
“The rise in tension is an extension of the breakup of the Hanoi summit”
Wie Seong-rak, former head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who served as the main representative of the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue, told the BBC: “The current situation of worsening tensions on the Korean peninsula while North Korea increases the intensity of provocations every day is an extension of the breakdown of the Hanoi-US summit “.
source of photos, Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and former US President Donald Trump hold a conversation during the North Korea-US Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, February 28, 2019
In February 2019, when the Hanoi summit failed, North Korea broke the moratorium (suspension of nuclear and missile tests) and after the settlement of the Biden and Yun Seok-yeol administrations, the ROK and the U. that was
Wi said: “Current North Korean provocations are emerging as combined drills and training are integrated here.” “We will judge it for ourselves, it will develop nuclear and missile capabilities,” he said.
Some analysts say North Korea is not deliberately conducting a seventh nuclear test to change the dramatic dialogue with the United States.
Baek Seung-ju, a professor at Kookmin University who served as Deputy Minister of National Defense, said: “The prospect of a further North Korean nuclear test has been in the news since last January.”
It is possible that North Korea could conduct a nuclear test in the current tensions, but doing so would break Singapore’s deal with the United States.
He said: “The tension was very high at the time of the explosion of the wooden box mine in August 2015, but an agreement was reached when North Korea began engaging in dramatic dialogue. It remains to be seen whether that is. it will happen, “he said.
Park Won-gon, a North Korean professor at Ewha Womans University, also noted that “North Korea is unlikely to conduct a nuclear test when everyone expects.” It means that their cards are read, but there is no need to match the times.
However, he said: “North Korea is engaged in a kind of ‘speed war’ which will begin on September 25 and it is very likely that the end will be the seventh nuclear test. It will try to end something through it.”
“North Korea’s provocation will only lead to strengthening the ROK-USA alliance”
The White House today released a statement condemning North Korea’s launch of ICBMs.
“President Joe Biden and his national security team are working closely with our allies and partners to assess the situation,” he said.
“This action shows that North Korea prioritizes its illegal weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs over the well-being of the North Korean people,” he said.
There was also a phone call with key representatives of North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs from the United States, South Korea and Japan.
On the morning of the 3rd, Kim Geon, head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Relations Headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, had a three-way telephone consultation with United States Special Representative for North Korea Seong Kim. and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Asia and the Director of Oceania Funakoshi Takehiro on the morning of the 3rd. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea shared the same opinion.
They also strongly condemned the launch of North Korea today, which has clearly violated a number of UN Security Council resolutions and poses a serious threat to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, the region and the international community in its together.
He added that North Korea is solely responsible for escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula and that North Korea’s attempts to overshadow or shift this responsibility will never succeed.
source of photos, EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock
US President Joe Biden talks about “preserving and protecting democracy” in Washington, DC on November 2, 2022.
Ultimately, the purpose of the negotiations with the United States on ‘nuclear disarmament’
Another analysis continued that what North Korea wants is ultimately a negotiation with the United States. The problem is that it will take a completely different position from previous negotiations.
Professor Park Won-gon said: “Although previous negotiations were vague, if they mentioned ‘the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula’, now North Korea will raise a completely different ‘nuclear disarmament’.”
He said: “This is the ‘clifftop tactic’ that North Korea has always used, and it’s easy to say that to some extent it is managed because we have become so used to it, but it is actually very dangerous because the l ‘goal is to jump off the cliff rather than stopping at the cliff edge tactics, “he said.
Therefore, he stressed that diplomatic methods or inter-Korean hotlines should be mobilized since in the current situation the possibility of a real conflict beyond the simple creation of tension cannot be ruled out.
Professor Park said: “There are very few wars that start just because they plan to wage an all-out war right from the start.” He suggested that “management is necessary since it begins with such a small confrontation and mutual distrust, misunderstanding and escalation into a war.”
“North Korea is playing a ‘game’ of provocation and pressure against the United States and South Korea,” said former division chief Wie Sung-rak.
He also predicted that the current strong-willed structure will continue into the next year as there is no chance the US will concede anything to North Korea.
Meanwhile, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was considering further independent sanctions in response to the continuing provocations from North Korea.
In a regular briefing on the 3rd, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim Su-seok said the government designated 15 North Korean individuals and 16 institutions as independent sanctions targets last month and said: “As Korea’s provocations of the North have continued since then, further independent sanctions are being considered. “
“During this review process, we are also closely consulting our allies such as the United States and Japan on ways to improve the effectiveness of independent sanctions,” he said.
