North Korea fired one of its most powerful missiles on Thursday with the stated aim of strengthening its nuclear deterrent, its first show of force since it was accused of sending thousands of troops to Russia.
The South Korean military “detected a ballistic missile launched from the Pyongyang region towards the East Sea around 7:10 a.m. (10:10 p.m. GMT Wednesday),” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, using the Korean name for the Sea of Japan.
This missile, according to the Japanese Defense Minister, belongs to “the class of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM)”, which have a range of at least 5,500 kilometers and are generally designed to carry nuclear charges.
The North Korean launch came hours after the defense chiefs of the United States and South Korea called on Pyongyang to withdraw its troops from Russia, where Washington and Seoul say some 10,000 troops have been deployed. with a view to possible action against Ukrainian forces.
Pyongyang, which has not confirmed or denied the presence of troops in Russia, confirmed a “crucial” test, part of its desire to “strengthen its nuclear forces, supervised by its leader Kim Jong Un.
“The test firing (…) fully meets the objective of informing our rivals (…) of our willingness to retaliate,” Mr. Kim said during the launch, according to the state agency North Korean KCNA.
This new North Korean shot was “strongly” condemned by the White House, which denounced a “blatant violation” of UN Security Council resolutions.
Under UN sanctions, Pyongyang is prohibited from carrying out any weapons tests using ballistic technology.
– “Divert attention” –
The North Korean launch “appears to have been carried out to divert attention from international criticism of the deployment of its troops” in Russia, Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in North Korea, told AFP. Seoul.
The South Korean army had warned the day before that the North, equipped with nuclear weapons, was preparing to test an intercontinental ballistic missile, or even to carry out a nuclear test, perhaps before the American presidential election on November 5.
“Our military has raised its alert level and is closely sharing information regarding North Korea's ballistic missile with the American and Japanese authorities, maintaining a high level of preparedness,” said the South-South Joint Chiefs of Staff. Korean.
North Korea typically test-fires its most powerful and longest-range missiles on an upward trajectory, that is, upwards, not outwards, to avoid flying over countries. neighbors.
“It was the longest flight time ever recorded (for a North Korean missile),” Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani commented to journalists.
– “Escalade” –
According to Washington and Seoul, some 10,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia, without their mission being clearly identified.
“The fact that such a large number of troops moved west suggests that it is unlikely that they left simply to observe,” said a South Korean presidential office official.
For South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, the North Korean deployment could “result in an escalation of threats to the security of the Korean peninsula.”
It also raises fears of an escalation in the conflict in Ukraine, two and a half years after the launch of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine launched by Vladimir Putin.
South Korea, a major arms exporter, has said it is exploring the possibility of sending weapons directly to Ukraine in response, something it has so far opposed in due to a long-standing national policy that prevented it from supplying weapons in active conflicts.
Seoul has long accused the North of sending weapons to help Moscow fight kyiv.
North Korea has recently strengthened its military ties with Moscow, with President Vladimir Putin making a rare visit to Pyongyang in June, signing a mutual defense agreement with Kim Jong Un.
