North Korea carried out two missile launches into the East Sea on Wednesday, in a move seen as rebuffing any optimism over easing inter-Korean tensions.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the North first fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday morning, followed by another launch later in the day.
The first launches were detected at around 8:50 a.m. from the Wonsan area on the North’s east coast, adding that the missiles flew about 240 kilometers. The second launches were detected at around 2:28 p.m. Details of the second launch were not immediately disclosed.
The launches came on the second consecutive day of missile activity, following an apparent failed launch attempt from the Pyongyang area the previous day.
The move appeared aimed at drawing a line under speculation that tensions between the two Koreas could ease, after President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over a recent civilian drone incursion into the North and Kim Jong Un, via his sister, described the move as a “bold and sincere” step.
In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday evening, North Korea dismissed such views as “wishful interpretation,” saying South Korean officials were making “daydream-like” remarks by portraying its response as an “unusually friendly” signal.
In response, South Korea’s National Security Office held an emergency security review meeting attended by officials from the Defense Ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The office said it had reported the situation to President Lee and instructed relevant agencies to maintain heightened readiness, particularly given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. It also urged North Korea to immediately halt what it described as a provocation in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The Joint Chiefs said it is analyzing details of both Tuesday and Wednesday’s launches.
The JCS added that South Korean and US intelligence authorities are closely tracking launch-related activities and sharing information, while the military has strengthened surveillance and readiness against additional launches.
Some observers said the North may have been testing a recently unveiled high-thrust solid-fuel engine or attempting to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile-class projectile or a large-caliber multiple rocket system used for strikes against the South.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said, “The launch appears to reflect Pyongyang’s intent to strengthen its nuclear deterrence capable of reaching the US mainland and to demonstrate it externally, citing lessons from the ongoing Iran conflict.”
“The move also seems aimed at quickly shutting down Seoul’s optimistic interpretation following Kim Yo Jong’s earlier statement,” Yang added.
Wednesday’s launch was North Korea’s first ballistic missile test in about three weeks, following a March 14 firing of more than 10 missiles from the Sunan area near Pyongyang that flew roughly 350 kilometers.
It was the North’s fourth ballistic missile launch this year.
flylikekite@heraldcorp.com
