North Korea on Thursday carried out its third missile launch in five days, hours after United States (US) Vice President Kamala Harris left South Korea.
The South Korean military said it had detected the launch of “two short-range ballistic missiles from the Sunchon area in South Pyongan province.” Its Joint Chiefs of Staff added that Seoul “has reinforced monitoring and surveillance” in response to the launch and has been maintaining “utmost readiness in coordination with the US.”
Instructions by the Prime Minister in Response to the Missile Launch by North Korea (18:14)
— PM's Office of Japan (@JPN_PMO) September 28, 2022
1. Dedicate maximum effort to gather and analyze information, and provide the public speedy and adequate information.
2. Ensure the safety of aircraft, vessels, and other assets.
It also said the missiles travelled about 350 kilometres (kms), reaching an altitude of about 50 kms, at a top speed of Mach 5, which is five times the speed of sound.
The Japanese coast guard confirmed that North Korea had launched a likely ballistic missile. In this respect, public broadcaster NHK mentioned that the projectile “appears to have fallen outside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone,” citing unnamed sources from the defence ministry.
North Korea also test-fired two ballistic missiles on Wednesday, a day before Harris arrived in Seoul, and one before she left Washington on Sunday.
As I told our service members in Japan, when it comes to America’s national security, one of our defining missions is to uphold the international rules-based order. The work of the United States in the Indo-Pacific is critical to that mission. pic.twitter.com/ZRsu7eta5P
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) September 29, 2022
Harris reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to defend Seoul and Tokyo during her Southeast Asia tour. “I cannot state enough that the commitment of the US to the defence of the Republic of Korea (ROK) is ironclad, and that we will do everything in our power to ensure that it has meaning in every way the words suggest,” she told reporters after her tour to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas. Harris also tweeted later that the US-South Korea alliance stands “ready to address any contingency.”
Today I met with President Yoon Suk Yeol. I reaffirmed that our defense commitments to the ROK are ironclad and welcomed our close cooperation with the Republic of Korea across a range of issues, including emerging technologies, supply chains, and the climate crisis. pic.twitter.com/ckGXDOZ3WM
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) September 29, 2022
Sunday’s test was Pyongyang’s first ballistic missile launch since it passed a new law earlier this month that allows it to preemptively use tactical nuclear weapons to defend itself, with Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un declaring that the law makes the country’s nuclear status “irreversible.” He also stressed that Pyongyang will never abandon nuclear weapons, as it needs them to counter the US, and that even another 100 years of sanctions would not bring the country to surrender the weapons.
The Alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea was forged in shared sacrifice. Nearly 70 years since the Korean Armistice, the threat of conflict remains, but as I said at the DMZ, the U.S.-ROK Alliance stands ready to address any contingency. pic.twitter.com/lboJas4kXw
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) September 29, 2022
Its latest test came days after the US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan, arrived in South Korea for a four-day joint military drill. Amid the looming threat of a nuclear North Korea, the navies of South Korea, the US, and Japan staged trilateral anti-submarine exercises on Friday for the first time in five years.
#JMSDF conducted Japan-U.S.-ROK trilateral exercise. Amid an increasingly severe security environment, including North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile launches, in order to secure peace and stability in the region, #JMOD/#JSDF continues to deepen 🇯🇵🇺🇸🇰🇷trilateral cooperation. https://t.co/QhT29I2koG
— Japan Ministry of Defense/Self-Defense Forces (@ModJapan_en) September 30, 2022
North Korea has conducted over 30 missile tests this year, including six Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). The US and South Korea have warned that the Kim Jong-un administration has already completed preparations to carry out a seventh nuclear test, the country’s first since 2017.