© KEYSTONE/EPA/KCNA
North Korea launched two new projectiles on Monday, likely ballistic missiles, according to Seoul. This is the fourth weapons test conducted by Pyongyang since the beginning of the year.
North Korea has accelerated its weapons tests in recent weeks, as Kim Jong-un’s regime seeks to strengthen the military capabilities of the country subject to heavy international sanctions, while refusing offers of dialogue from the United States.
The two “short-range ballistic missiles” were launched from an airport near Pyongyang shortly before 9 a.m. Monday (1 a.m. in Switzerland), and traveled 380 km at an altitude of 42 km, according to the South Korean military.
The new trials come at a delicate time for the region, as a presidential election is scheduled for March in South Korea, and China, North Korea’s only major ally, prepares to host the Olympics on next month.
The frequency and variety of tests show that North Korea is “trying to improve its technology and operational capabilities to carry out covert actions, so that other countries have a hard time detecting the preparatory signs of a launch”, it said. said Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi.
Missiles hypersoniques
“North Korea’s remarkable development of its missile technology cannot be ignored, for the security of Japan and the region,” he warned.
North Korea notably claimed to have successfully tested hypersonic glide missiles, a particularly sophisticated weapon, on January 5 and 11. The second launch was supervised by Kim Jong-un himself.
Hypersonic missiles can reach five times the speed of sound or more. They are faster and more maneuverable than standard missiles, making them more difficult for defense systems, on which the United States spends billions of dollars, to intercept. The United States retaliated last week with new sanctions, which Pyongyang called a “provocation”.
If “the United States adopts such a confrontational attitude, the DPRK [République populaire et démocratique de Corée, le nom officiel de la Corée du Nord, ndlr] will be forced to make a definite and stronger reaction, “a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman warned on Friday.
Dialogue stalled
In its five-year defense plan, unveiled in January 2021, North Korea cited hypersonic missiles as its number one priority, as dialogue with the United States over its ballistic and nuclear program remains at a standstill.
The country is going through a serious economic crisis, aggravated by sanctions and by the closure of its self-imposed borders in the name of the fight once morest Covid-19. The regime “needs to present something to North Koreans,” said Cheing Seong-chang, from the center for North Korean studies at the Sejong Institute.
Pyongyang seeks to impress the population with military prowess as “it has become clear that the North will struggle to shine in the economic field”, advances this analyst.
A North Korean freight train crossed the international bridge over the Yalu River last weekend and entered China, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. This event might mean the resumption of land trade between the two countries, suspended since the start of the pandemic regarding two years ago.
“This ‘timing’ suggests that Beijing is more than complicit in Pyongyang’s provocations,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Women’s University in Seoul. According to him, “China supports North Korea economically and coordinates with it militarily.
