North Korea launches multiple short-range missiles, South Korea condemns ‘provocation’

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles from Wonsan into the East Sea this morning, around a week after leader Kim Jong Un tested a new weapons system for his latest warship. — Reuters pic

SEOUL, May 8 — North Korea fired multiple types of short-range ballistic missiles today, South Korea's military said, around a week after leader Kim Jong Un tested a new weapons system for his latest warship.

Seoul's military said it had “detected the launch of various types of short-range ballistic missiles,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The missiles were “fired from the Wonsan area of North Korea into the East Sea between approximately 8.10am and 9.20am today (from 7am Malaysia time),” they added, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

The missiles flew up to about 800 kilometres before splashing down in waters to the east of the peninsula, the JCS said, adding it strongly condemned the North for a “clear act of provocation that poses a serious threat to peace and stability”.

“Our military, under the strong South Korea — US combined defence posture, is closely monitoring various North Korean activities to prevent any misjudgment (by the North),” it said in a statement.

The launch, the nuclear-armed North's first missile test since March, came about a week after Kim oversaw the test-firing of a new warship weapons system.

Pyongyang unveiled the 5,000-tonne destroyer-class vessel named Choe Hyon last month.

North Korea claims the vessel was equipped with the “most powerful weapons”, and that it would “enter into operation early next year”.

Some analysts have said the ship could be equipped with short-range tactical nuclear missiles — although North Korea has not proven it has the ability to miniaturise its nukes.

The South Korean military has said the destroyer could have been developed with Russian help — possibly in exchange for Pyongyang deploying thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Kyiv.

Russia and North Korea also recently announced that they had started building the first road bridge linking the two neighbours.

North Korea launched a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions.

Experts have long warned that the nuclear-armed North may be testing weapons for export to Russia for use against Ukraine.

The launch also came as Russia prepared to hold World War II Victory Day commemorations, with world leaders including China's Xi Jinping expected to attend — but not Pyongyang's Kim.

A three-day truce in the conflict with Ukraine has been ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin to coincide with the celebrations, although Kyiv has never agreed to it and has dismissed it as political theatre.

The Thursday missile launch appears to “serve as a reminder of North Korea's contribution and stake in Russia's apparent efforts to commemorate Victory Day as a triumph over Ukraine,” Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.

Testing, testing

Japan's defence ministry said there was no impact on Japan from the North Korean missiles, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Kim earlier this week inspected shell manufacturing at munitions factories, with state media claiming the country's shell output had increased dramatically in recent months.

Given the latest development, it is “entirely possible” that today's missile launch “served as a test firing prior to potential export to Russia”, North Korean studies scholar Ahn Chan-il told AFP.

South Korea's military said in early March that the North fired “multiple unidentified ballistic missiles”, the same day Seoul and Washington began a major annual joint military drill known as Freedom Shield.

Pyongyang also carried out a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea in late February, which it said showed off “counterattack capabilities”.

Washington — Seoul's key security ally — has in recent years ramped up joint military exercises and increased the presence of strategic US assets, such as an aircraft carrier and a nuclear-powered submarine, in the region to deter the North.

Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear weapons state and routinely denounces joint US — South Korea drills as rehearsals for invasion.

The two Koreas are technically still at war as the 1950 — 1953 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

With relations souring, the North last year blew up roads and railways connecting it to the South and fortified areas of the border with more mines.

In early April, South Korea's military said its troops fired warning shots when around 10 North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the heavily fortified border that divides the peninsula. — AFP