North Korea fired a strategic ballistic sea-to-surface missile (MSBS) on Saturday, May 7, announced the South Korean army staff, a few hours after the United States warned of the possibility of a resumption of nuclear testing by Pyongyang.
“Our soldiers detected around 2:07 p.m. [7 h 07, heure de Paris] that a short-range ballistic missile presumed to be an MSBS was fired off [la ville portuaire de] Sinpo »east of North Korea, the South Korean army general staff said in a statement.
This shot is Pyongyang’s fifteenth show of force since the start of the year. Despite severe international sanctions over its weapons program, North Korea has intensified its testing and rejected any calls for dialogue from the United States. In particular, it fired an intercontinental missile at the end of March. As much ” Provocation “ denounced by Washington.
Since 2017, the regime of Kim Jong-un had ceased the firing of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear tests.
American initiative remained a dead letter
The United States believes that North Korea could lead ” this month “ its first nuclear test since 2017 (its seventh overall), the US State Department said on Friday. “This analysis is consistent with recent public statements made by North Korea itself.”said a spokeswoman for American diplomacy, Jalina Porter, assuring that the American government had shared it with its allies and was going “continue close coordination with them”.
Satellite imagery recently showed signs of new nuclear activity in a tunnel at the Punggye-ri site. According to North Korea, this site was demolished in 2018 before a historic summit between Kim Jong-un and then US President Donald Trump, which marked the beginning of a phase of dialogue which has since long fired. The current president of the United States, Joe Biden, has said he is ready to renew the dialogue to discuss a denuclearization of the reclusive country, but this initiative has remained a dead letter since his arrival at the White House in early 2021 .
In addition, this new shooting comes before the entry into office on Tuesday of the new South Korean president, the conservative Yoon Seok-youl, favorable to the balance of power with the North.