North Korea fires 2 ballistic missiles off east coast
North Korea fired "two ballistic missiles" into the sea from off its east coast on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, per Yonhap news agency. The launch further escalates tensions in the region, two days after Pyongyang claimed to have fired new long-range cruise missiles that it described as "a strategic weapon of great significance."
The offices of Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in said they were convening sessions of their national security councils to discuss Pyongyang's actions. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in its statement that it had raised its level of surveillance following the launch and was analyzing additional details in partnership with the United States, as its military "maintains a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the U.S."
The US military's Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that it's "aware of the missile launch and are consulting closely with our allies." South Korea also said Wednesday that it successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile within hours of North Korea's launch, AP reported.
The big picture: North Korea appears to be stepping up its missiles program as nuclear disarmament negotiations with the U.S. that broke down in 2019 continue to stall. The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency noted last month that North Korea appeared to have resumed operations at a key nuclear reactor that's believed to produce fuel for nuclear weapons.
Sung Kim, the U.S. envoy for North Korea, said Tuesday that the United States had "no hostile intent towards Pyongyang and hopes it responds positively to offers for talks" on its weapons programs, Reuters notes. The envoy was scheduled to meet with his Japanese counterpart for talks on Wednesday. The foreign ministers of South Korea and China were meeting in Seoul on Wednesday following North Korea announcing that it had launched cruise missiles over the weekend. A pair of North Korean missile launches on Wednesday do not pose an immediate threat to the United States or its allies, the U.S. military's Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement.
"While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies, the missile launch highlights the destabilising impact of the DPRK's illicit weapons program," it said, referring to North Korea by its official name.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of South Korea and China met Wednesday for talks expected to focus on North
Korea and other regional security issues, two days after North Korea claimed to have tested a newly developed cruise missile.
North Korea said Monday it had successfully tested the missile twice over the weekend that it said hit targets 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away, a range that is enough to strike all of Japan including U.S. military bases there. It was North Korea's first weapons launch in six months and came amid a stalemate in its nuclear diplomacy with the United States.
On Wednesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong was expected to ask China to play a more active role in persuading North Korea to return to the nuclear negotiations during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Seoul. While there are questions about China's influence on North Korea, Beijing is still North Korea's last major ally and aid benefactor. More than 90% of North Korea's trade goes through China.