Pyongyang fires several ballistic missiles during Blinken’s visit to Seoul

A television screen broadcasts archive footage of a North Korean missile launch on March 18, 2024 at a train station in Seoul, South Korea

North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles on Monday, the Seoul army reported, during a visit by American Secretary of State Antony Blinken to South Korea.

The South Korean military said it had “detected around 7:44 a.m. (10:44 p.m. GMT) the launch of what appears to be multiple short-range ballistic missiles,” which traveled some 300 kilometers before crashing into the South Korean sea. East, also known as the Sea of ​​Japan.

“We share relevant information with the United States and Japan and stand ready to intervene,” added the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The shootings coincide with the visit of the head of American diplomacy, who arrived the previous evening in Seoul. He held talks Monday morning with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and participated in the third “Democracy Summit” on Monday.

After his meeting with Mr. Yoon, Mr. Blinken “condemned (…) the launch of ballistic missiles by the DPRK and reaffirmed the United States’ unwavering commitment to the security of the Republic of Korea,” declared State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, referring to the official names of North and South Korea, respectively.

Three short-range ballistic missiles were fired, according to the Japanese government spokesperson, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemning “repeated and very frequent” weapons tests by the North.

This “series of actions threatens the peace and security of Japan, the region and the international community. We do not tolerate it,” he added.

These ballistic missile launches are the second by Pyongyang in 2024, after that, on January 14, of a machine equipped with a hypersonic warhead.

Mr. Blinken arrived in South Korea on Sunday to participate in the third “Summit for Democracy”, an initiative by United States President Joe Biden, and which Seoul is hosting from Monday to Wednesday. Government officials, NGOs and members of civil society are present.

The American Secretary of State also met his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul and discussed strengthening the alliance between Washington and Seoul, as part of a policy of “extended deterrence” against the North.

– ” High price ” –

On Thursday, Seoul and Washington ended their annual large-scale “Freedom Shield” exercises, which included missile interception and air assaults. The number of troops participating has been doubled compared to 2023.

Pyongyang warned in early March that the United States and South Korea would pay a “high price” for the maneuvers before announcing that Mr. Kim had supervised a large-scale artillery exercise including, he said, border units “who put the enemy’s capital within their reach.”

“This is a very calculated maneuver on the part of Pyongyang, firing several missiles shows that it is capable of such an act even when the highest American diplomat is on the spot”, indicated to AFP the Professor Choi Gi-il, specialist in military studies at Sangii University.

North Korea usually launches missiles “as a response” after joint exercises between the United States and South Korea, said Han Kwon-hee of the Korea Association of Industry Studies. of the defense.

Seoul is a key ally of Washington in the region. The United States is stationing some 27,000 American troops in South Korea to help protect itself against the nuclear-armed North.

Coming to power in 2022, conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has strengthened his ties with the White House and sought to get closer to Japan, a former colonial power on the Korean peninsula, in the face of threats from Pyongyang.

Since the start of the year, Pyongyang has designated Seoul as its “main enemy”, closed agencies dedicated to reunification and inter-Korean dialogue and threatened to go to war for any violation of its territory “even if only to 0.001 millimeter”.

After Seoul, Antony Blinken must go to the Philippines, to provide support to an ally struggling with Beijing’s desires in the South China Sea.

LNT with Afp