Short-range ballistic missiles
North Korea provokes with volley of missiles
30.05.2024, 04:33 a.m.
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Two days after a failed satellite launch, North Korea is firing missiles again. The South Korean military counted around ten missiles that fell into the open sea. They are apparently short-range ballistic missiles.
According to the South Korean military, North Korea has fired around ten missiles towards the open sea. The General Staff in Seoul said they were probably short-range ballistic missiles and a deliberate provocation. The missiles were fired from the capital region of Pyongyang and flew around 350 kilometers before falling into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan. Further data is still being evaluated in cooperation with the USA and Japan, it said.
The Japanese coast guard issued a safety warning and announced shortly afterwards that the missiles had probably already hit the ground. There were no reports of damage. Ships in the area were warned to be cautious because there could be rocket debris floating in the sea. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida criticized the rocket launches, saying they violated UN Security Council resolutions.
The launch came after North Korea flew hundreds of garbage balloons toward the South since Tuesday evening in retaliation against South Korean activists who flew anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border.
Ballistic missiles can – depending on their design – be equipped with a nuclear warhead. North Korea is subject to international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons and missile program. Launches and even tests of ballistic missiles of any range are prohibited in the isolated country by UN resolutions. However, the leadership in Pyongyang repeatedly ignores these bans.
Failure with spy satellites
Two days ago, North Korea tried unsuccessfully to put a military satellite into orbit. The “new type” carrier rocket carrying the reconnaissance satellite “Malligyong-1-1” exploded in the air shortly after launch, state media reported on Tuesday night (local time). After North Korea announced the satellite launch, South Korea held an air force exercise with several fighter jets near the inter-Korean border. North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un threatened a resolute response to the military exercise a day later.
The ultimately failed satellite launch was met with international criticism. Like the USA and South Korea, UN Secretary-General António Guterres accused North Korea of using technology that was directly related to its ballistic missile program. The German government also condemned the launch for the same reasons. North Korea criticized Guterres’ statement and, in a statement by the Foreign Ministry, cited it as simply exercising its right to use space like other countries.