This new launch comes five days after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, presented by Pyongyang as the most advanced in its arsenal, leading South Korea, the United States and Japan to carry out in response joint military maneuvers in the region.
This new shot also comes the day before the American presidential election. It was the Kim Jong Un regime’s first show of force since it was accused of sending thousands of troops to Russia.
The shooting also came just hours after the defense chiefs of the United States and South Korea called on Pyongyang to withdraw its troops from Russia, where Washington says about 10,000 troops have been deployed in preparation for possible action against Ukrainian forces.
On Sunday, South Korea, Japan and the United States conducted a joint air exercise involving a heavy bomber in response to the ICBM launch.
The exercise mobilized the American B-1B bomber, South Korean F-15K and KF-16 fighters as well as Japanese F-2 fighters.
American-South Korean military maneuvers never fail to irritate Pyongyang, which considers them a rehearsal for a future invasion of its territory.
Kim Jong-un’s sister speaks out
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said the exercise was “just a new, action-based explanation of the most hostile and dangerous aggressive nature of the ‘enemy towards our Republic’.
In a statement released Tuesday by North Korea’s KCNA news agency, Kim Yo Jong said the exercise was “absolute proof of the validity and urgency of our chosen line of building nuclear forces.” and put into practice.
She warned that any “disruption of the balance of power between rivals on the Korean Peninsula and in the region precisely meant war.”
Experts have suggested that Pyongyang’s series of weapons tests could be an attempt to distract from its alleged troop deployment to Russia, or to elevate itself to the top of the agenda ahead of the US election.
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