After ballistic missiles, North Korea flies warplanes near South Korea buffer zone

North Korea has again launched a short-range ballistic missile toward its eastern waters and flew warplanes near the border with South Korea on early Friday. According to the South Korean military, it detected around 170 rounds of artillery from eastern and western coastal areas near the border region and added some shells fell inside maritime buffer zones-- a neutral zonal area that lies between two or more bodies of land, usually pertaining to countries. This was the same region that the Koreas established under a 2018 military agreement on reducing tensions.

In a statement released on Friday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile lifted off from the North’s capital region at 1:49 a.m. Friday (1649 GMT Thursday; 12:49 p.m. EDT Thursday). As per the statement, none of the North Korean artillery shells fell inside South Korean territorial waters but called it a clear violation of the agreement signed in 2018. Further, the South Korean government said it has imposed unilateral sanctions on the North for the first time in five years in response to the continuous breach of the international borders. It has targeted 15 North Korean individuals and 16 organisations suspected of involvement in illicit activities to finance North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile program.

Nuclear tests didn’t pose an immediate threat, says US

Meanwhile, the incident was also confirmed by both US and Japan.  According to Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, the missile flew on an “irregular” trajectory and called it a violation of international border norms. “Whatever the intentions are, North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile launches are absolutely impermissible and we cannot overlook its substantial advancement of missile technology,” Hamada said. “North Korea’s series of actions pose threats to Japan, as well as the region and the international community, and are absolutely intolerable.” Furthermore, the US Indo-Pacific Command, in a statement, said that the North Korean launch didn’t pose an immediate threat to any of its personnel or territory.

South Korea asserts Kim Jong-Un may conduct a nuclear test in the coming weeks

In recent months, North has boosted its nuke capabilities, with several long-range weapons fired in the past ten days. It launched a suspected ballistic missile on Saturday, a day after the US and South Korea finished a naval exercise. This was a follow-up of an unidentified ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday. It has test-fired about 60 missiles over about 20 different launch events this year as its leader Kim Jong-Un vows to expand his nuclear arsenal and refuses to return to nuclear diplomacy with the United States.

In April, it fired a newly built intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-17. The intermediate-range missile reportedly has the potential of reaching Guam, a key US military hub in the Pacific. Meanwhile, South Korean officials say the North Korean dictator may also conduct a nuclear test in the coming weeks or months, escalating a pressure campaign aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of North Korea as a nuclear power that can negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength.

Image: AP