photo source, News1
An artificial flag is fluttering at the Cultural Center in the village of Gijeong-dong, North Korea, as seen from the Panmunjeom Post Office 3 in Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, on the 4th. From the 25th of last month to the 9th, one day before the founding of its party, North Korea fired several types of missiles alternately for a total of seven times for a full month.
North Korea continued to launch missiles a day before the so-called ‘Double Ten Day (October 10)’, the anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on the 9th, “From 1:48 am to 1:58 a.m., North Korea detected two short-range ballistic missiles launched into the East Sea from Muncheon (northern of Wonsan) in Gangwon-do.” 5 (5 times the speed of sound), with a peak altitude of regarding 90 km and a maximum speed of regarding 350 km.
Since the 25th of last month, North Korea has fired several types of missiles seven times in total for a fortnight. Several types of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) were fired six times, but on the 4th, an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that flew 4,500 km over Japan, particularly heightened international tensions.
‘Korea-US-Japan’ vs ‘North Korea-China-Russia’ Blocking Aspects
North Korea is shifting responsibility for its recent missile launches to ‘continuous direct military threat from the United States’.
The statement by a spokesperson for the National Aviation Administration and a Q&A by a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense of North Korea announced on the 8th contained this content, claiming that the missile test was a ‘normal and planned measure in self-defence’.
The period in which North Korea has continued to test missiles for the past two days overlaps with the period of joint maritime exercises between South Korea and the United States, and between South Korea and Japan.
Earlier, the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike group arrived in Busan on the 23rd of last month and conducted a combined ROK-US combined naval exercise for four days from the 26th to the 29th.
The participants of the Standing Committee of the National Security Council (NSC), held immediately following North Korea’s missile launch on the 9th, urged the ROK military to be thoroughly prepared for the future, while deterring and uniting with North Korea through the ROK-U.S. joint exercise, including the deployment of US strategic assets, and security cooperation between the US and Japan. He emphasized that the defense posture will be further strengthened.
Meanwhile, the US government has repeatedly condemned North Korea’s ballistic missile launches. In a statement in the name of a spokesperson for North Korea’s SRBM launch on the 9th (Korean time), the U.S. State Department said, “It is a violation of many UN Security Council resolutions and poses a threat to North Korea’s neighbors and the international community.” “The defense promise of the United States is firm,” he added.
In particular, following the IRBM launched by North Korea on the 4th flew regarding 4,500 km over Japan, the US demanded the convening of an open meeting of the UN Security Council on the 5th (local time). At the Security Council meeting, the United States emphasized that North Korea’s successive ballistic missile launches were “in violation of Security Council resolutions.”
However, China and Russia disagreed, saying, “The United States is also responsible for increasing the threat of military competition by leading joint military exercises with other countries in the region.” In the end, the Security Council ended without results, only confirming the difference in positions between those who condemned North Korea, such as South Korea (participating as interested parties), the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom, and those who insisted on the theory of responsibility for the United States, such as China, Russia, and North Korea.
China and Russia, which are permanent members of the Security Council, participated in the resolution of sanctions once morest North Korea at the Security Council level until the end of 2017, when North Korea launched its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-15 and conducted its sixth nuclear test. However, following the intensification of strategic competition between the United States and China in recent years and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, China and Russia have taken a different position from the United States on the issue of sanctions once morest North Korea.