North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea on Wednesday, the U.S. military said, its first weapons launch in about two months and a signal it isn’t interested in rejoining denuclearisation talks anytime soon and would rather focus on boosting its weapons arsenal.
The launch came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un vowed to further strengthen his military capability — without disclosing any new policies toward the United States or South Korea — at a high-profile ruling party conference last week.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the ballistic missile launch “highlights the destabilising impact of (North Korea’s) illicit weapons program” but didn’t pose an immediate threat to U.S. territory or its allies. It said in a statement that the U.S. commitment to the defense of its allies, South Korea and Japan, remains “ironclad.”
Reaction of South
South Korea’s military said a suspected ballistic missile fired from North Korea’s mountainous northern Jagang province flew toward its eastern waters. Defense Minister Suh Wook said the launch is seen as part of North Korea’s military buildup, but that South Korea is analysing whether it had any political intention.
In an emergency video conference, members of South Korea’s presidential national security team expressed concerns about the launch
The Japanese Defense Ministry also detected the North Korean launch. “We find it truly regrettable that North Korea has continued to fire missiles since last year,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.
China, North Korea’s most important ally, maintained an even-handed response to the launch, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin calling for dialogue and saying “all parties concerned should keep in mind the big picture (and) be cautious with their words and actions.”
