In a year that was starting to get hot on the geopolitical table, North Korea didn’t want to go out for a party. The hermetic regime led with an iron fist by Kim Jong-un fired at least two ballistic missiles eastward toward Japan on Sunday, in what constitutes its first show of military force this year. The projects apparently crashed in the Sea of Japan, but outside that country’s exclusive economic zone, and with no reports of damage to ships or planes, according to the Japanese government.
The shots were fired early Sunday morning (around 7:50 a.m. local time, early in the Spanish peninsula) from Pyongyang, as a preamble to the trip of the President of South Korea, Lee Jae-myung, to China: Lee had landed in the afternoon of this Sunday in Beijing, where he planned to meet overnight with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Relations between the Koreas and the North’s pivotal nuclear issue in the past year are sure to be a key part of the conversations during this first visit by the South Korean envoy since he took office in June.
The ballistic tests also coincide with a moment of extreme international tension following the United States’ military attack on Venezuela and the capture of that country’s president, Nicolas Maduro.
While the cancillerías of the middle of the planet continue to breathe and try to balance an unusual coup d’état, analysts cited by the South Korean press connect the burst of knowledge to the question of the Chavista regime; Kim Jong-un considers this a successful protest: “The US attack on Venezuela and the capture of President Maduro could possibly send a powerful message to Kim Jong-un, that of an existential threat and another justification for the adoption of nuclear weapons,” commented Lim Eul-chul, professor at the Instituto de Estudios del Lejano Oriente at Kyungnam University, to South Korea’s Yonhap agency.
The detected missiles traveled some 900 kilometers, according to the mayor of the Estado Mayor Conjunto de Corea del Sur, finally falling into the sea. “Our military maintains a firm posture of preparedness while closely sharing information on ballistic missiles originating from North Korea with the American and Japanese sides through an intensified surveillance posture against additional launches,” Seoul military authorities said.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense assures that the vehicles reach a maximum surrounding altitude of 50 kilometers, according to the Japanese agency Kyodo.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi explained during an appearance that Tokyo had vigorously protested to Pyongyang for this launch. North Korean actions “contribute to the peace and security” of Japan, the region and the international community, they said. Japan “will work closely” with the United States and South Korea in analyzing the details of the latest missile launches, he concluded.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ordered her employees to collect information and quickly provide necessary details to the public, at the same time ensuring the safety of ships and planes and preparing for unforeseen events, according to her workshop.
The American Forces in Korea (Washington maintains more than 28,000 troops in this country) assured to be present in numerous launches and followed the usual process of consultation with their partners and allies. The launch “does not pose an immediate threat to the American population or territory, nor to our allies,” he said in a statement. “The United States remains committed to the defense of our homeland and our allies in the region. »
North Korea’s latest launch of a short-range ballistic missile over the Sea of Japan took place on November 7, shortly after Trump traveled to the South for a summit of Asia-Pacific countries and celebrated his long-awaited meeting with Xi Jinping. During this trip, we began to speculate about a fleeting meeting between the United States and Kim Jong-un at the Korean-Korean border, which ultimately did not take place. The current South Korean president, Lee Jae-myung, has been in favor of a policy of distension and greater closure towards the North.
About The Author
