North Korea has continued its unprecedented string of tests of potentially nuclear-capable missiles this year. South Korea’s military reportedly detected the launch of two medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) in the western North Korean province of North Pyongan within an hour.
UN resolutions ban North Korea from testing ballistic missiles of any range. Depending on the design, such rockets can also be equipped with a nuclear warhead.
“Serious Provocation”
After being launched from a steep launch angle, the missiles flew about 500 kilometers in the direction of the Sea of Japan (Korean: East Sea) before they fell into the water, the general staff in Seoul said. According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense, the rockets rose up to 550 kilometers. South Korea’s military accused its northern neighbor of “serious provocation”.
North Korea wants to expand its nuclear force. To this end, the largely isolated country, which has already undertaken several nuclear tests, is also repeatedly testing nuclear-capable missiles.
The latest test came two days after Pyongyang announced it was testing a high-thrust solid-fuel engine for a new weapons system. Experts assumed that North Korea wanted to advance the technologies for the development of a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with solid fuel. The development of ICBMs with a range of thousands of kilometers is primarily aimed at the USA, which Pyongyang accuses of hostile policies.
More rocket tests than ever before in one year
After testing an ICBM again in mid-November, United Nations political affairs commissioner Rosemary DiCarlo spoke of “the latest in a series of alarming activities” linked to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. Since the beginning of the year, North Korea’s military has carried out more than 60 missile tests – more than ever in one year. Ballistic missiles accounted for most of them.
The conflict on the Korean peninsula has become significantly more explosive in recent months. North Korea not only fired missiles at an increased frequency, but also intensified its rhetoric against the governments in Seoul and Washington. For their part, South Korea and the United States resumed full-scale joint military exercises this year.
On Friday, Japan announced a massive military build-up in response to China’s quest for power and the threat posed by North Korea. In doing so, the US ally wants to be able to turn away from the security doctrine, which has so far been exclusively focused on defense, to eliminate enemy missile positions.
