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| A TV screen shows a file image of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station, Tuesday. Earlier in the day, Pyongyang test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) toward its eastern waters as Seoul and Washington entered the second day of their Freedom Shield joint exercise. AP-Yonhap |
Additional provocations expected ahead of S. Korea-Japan summit
By Lee Hyo-jin
North Korea fired two ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, Tuesday, ratcheting up tensions on the Korean Peninsula as South Korea and the United States entered the second day of their biggest combined military exercise in years.
Pyongyang's latest show of force ― which came just two days after it tested submarine-launched cruise missiles ― is an apparent protest against the 11-day Freedom Shield exercise which it views as a "rehearsal for invasion."
South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) said it detected two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) launched toward the eastern waters between 7:41 a.m. to 7:51 a.m. from Jangyon county, South Hwanghae Province. The area is merely 10 kilometers away from Baegnyeong Island near the maritime border separating the two Koreas.
The missiles flew some 620 kilometers, which is enough to reach any target in South Korea, including the southern resort island of Jeju. Given the flight distance, the authorities speculated the missile to be a KN-23, which is modeled on Russia's Iskander missile.
"North Korea's repeated missile launches are a serious provocation threatening peace and stability, not only on the Korean peninsula, but also in the international community. We strongly condemn it as a clear violation of the U.N. Security Council resolutions," the JCS said in a written statement, adding that it will continue monitoring additional provocations.
The latest launch was the sixth provocation by the North so far this year.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, for its part, assessed that Tuesday's launches do not pose an immediate threat to its allies, but denounced the North's "unlawful" weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs.
"The U.S. commitments to the defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan remain ironclad," it said in a statement. The Republic of Korea (ROK) is the official name of South Korea.
South Korea's top nuclear envoy Kim Gunn held a phone talk with his U.S. counterpart Sung Kim, in which the two officials emphasized that the North "must realize it has nothing to gain from the provocation and that it will have to pay a price for it."
In the last few days, the reclusive regime has been increasing its belligerence in protest against the Freedom Shield operation which began on Monday.
On Sunday morning, Pyongyang fired what it claimed to be two "strategic cruise missiles" from a submarine, after it had fired at least six short-range missiles toward the West Sea on March 9.
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| Helicopters of the United States Forces Korea (USKF) are stationed at Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, the second day South Korea and the U.S. kicked off their 11-day computer-simulated Freedom Shield joint exercise. Yonhap |
Meanwhile, Seoul and Washington proceeded with the second day of their 11-day computer-simulated Freedom Shield (FS 23) as well as several combined field training exercises collectively called Warrior Shield.
Aiming to further enhance South Korea-U.S. military cooperation through air, land, sea, space, cyberspace and special operations, the large-scale drill involves 20 field training events in real war scenarios.
Experts consider it unlikely that tensions on the peninsula will cool down soon. Additional provocations are expected this week ahead of President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to Tokyo for a summit with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The breakthrough summit slated for Thursday is expected to serve as momentum in mending years-long frayed ties between the two nations and pave the way for trilateral military cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.
"With President Yoon Suk Yeol's scheduled visit to Japan on March 16 and 17, it is possible that North Korea may carry out a major provocation in time for his visit to spoil the bilateral summit between Yoon and Kishida," read a report by Ellen Kim, a deputy director for the Korea Chair at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
She also anticipated that Pyongyang's new weapons testing could involve an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launched at a normal angle, given its warning in February that the country could turn the Pacific into its "firing range."
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