Last night there was a scare in Japan about an intercontinental missile launched by North Korea. The researcher considers simultaneous long- and short-range missile launches to be ominous.
North Korea continued its missile launches in the afternoon. The dictatorship has fired at least five missiles today.
The situation is tense because last night the dictatorship launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, but according to the South Korean military, the launch apparently failed.
It was North Korea’s seventh intercontinental missile launch this year.
Like South Korea, Japan, enraged by the launch, said the missile reached its maximum altitude of 2,000 meters and flew a distance of 750 kilometers before disappearing from radar over the Sea of Japan. When it disappeared, the missile was 1,100 kilometers from the coast of Japan.
The launch of the missile caused an alarm in northern Japan’s Miyagi, Yamagata and Niigata prefectures, and people were told to stay indoors or go to bomb shelters. Train services were also suspended.
The missile launch raised particular concerns in Niigata, where there is a seven-reactor nuclear power plant.
At first, it was reported in Japan that the missile had flown over the country, but the report was later retracted. Just over a month ago, North Korea launched a ballistic missile that flew over Japan for the first time in five years.
According to experts, this type of missile could be used to strike the Pacific island of Guam, where there is a US military base.
In addition to the intercontinental missile, North Korea also launched two short-range ballistic missiles at night, which fell into the sea.
The provocation was quickly condemned. The United States stated that the incident shows that North Korea’s missile program threatens international security. The United States assured that it would do everything to ensure its own security and that of its allies South Korea and Japan.
North Korea has stepped up its provocations
North Korea has already launched a record number of missiles this year.
The dictatorship has accelerated its provocations, as only yesterday 25 missiles were launched from the country, which is more than ever before in one day.
Special concern was raised yesterday by the fact that one of the missiles landed near South Korea’s territorial waters, about 60 kilometers from the coast. Never before has a North Korean missile come so close to South Korea.
South Korea, on the other hand, responded yesterday by firing missiles with its warplanes.
South Korea, Japan and Western countries fear that North Korea will test a nuclear weapon next. North Korea conducted six nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017. Now the country is suspected to be preparing the seventh test after a gap of many years.
The United States and South Korea are extending their military exercises
Experts say the record number of missile launches is North Korea’s reaction to ongoing large-scale military exercises between South Korea and the United States. More than 200 warplanes are participating in the exercise. After North Korea’s missile launches last night, the allies announced that they would continue the exercise longer than planned.
However, it may also be a question of the dictatorship increasing rounds before a possible nuclear test in North Korea’s surveillance.
The leader of the dictatorship Kim Jong-un hates the exercises between South Korea and the United States, and especially the fact that American stealth fighters, i.e. machines that are difficult to detect on radar, have been involved in them.
– North Korea does not like large joint exercises, especially when F-35 fighters are used in them, which can be used to carry out killing attacks against the regime. It is very difficult for North Korea’s air defense to combat them, says the professor Mason Richey From Seoul-based Hankuk University to Reuters news agency.
Last year, North Korea’s leadership said it was forced to develop new types of missiles to be able to destroy F-35 fighter jets.
Professor Richie states to Reuters that the background of North Korea’s missile tests is also the country’s internal propaganda and the maintenance of readiness.
It is difficult for the United States and its allies to prevent the development of North Korea’s weapons programs. Some American officials have warned that South Korea and the United States military exercises in the region will increase tensions.
“Ominous Signs”
This week’s events have shown what could happen in the first hours of a possible war situation on the Korean peninsula, says the director of the American defense research institute FAS Adam Mount for Reuters.
According to Mount, the United States and South Korea would launch a large-scale air campaign while North Korea would launch multiple missiles and fire artillery.
Mount sees North Korea’s recent simultaneous long- and short-range missile launches as ominous, as it suggests the dictatorship is training to strike American targets in a possible conflict.
According to some experts, yesterday’s record number of missiles does not appear to be North Korea’s usual response to allied military exercises. Instead, it may refer to the preparation of a nuclear test. Mount estimates that Kim Jong-un would like to raise tensions before the nuclear test.
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