"South Korea's Nightmare if It Failed to Detect North Korea's Missile (Comprehensive)"

US Media Reports Before Government Announcement
Possibility North Korea Evaded Air Defense with Cruise Missiles
US Experts Suggest Possible Failure to Detect
US Officials Also Confirm Launch

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The American daily The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 23rd (local time) that North Korea tested several short-range missiles over the past weekend.

WP cited multiple sources for this report. However, it did not mention detailed information such as which missiles were fired or from where.

Other major media outlets also reported, citing officials, that North Korea launched missiles.

The fact that the missile launch was not immediately announced by South Korean and U.S. authorities but was reported by the media has led to analysis that the detection of this launch may have been delayed. Some have also suggested that the identity of the missiles has not been confirmed.

In this regard, Binfin Narang, a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), pointed out, "If the missile launched by the North is the Geumseong-3 and South Korea and the U.S. failed to detect it, it could be a nightmare for Seoul." He explained that this is because it would mean a hole in South Korea's missile defense system. Professor Narang introduced the Geumseong-3 as a cruise missile.

WP described this test launch as the first direct challenge by North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un to the Joe Biden administration.

North Korea issued warnings to the new U.S. administration through statements by Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the Workers' Party, and Choe Son-hui, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, coinciding with the visits of the two ministers.

Earlier, CNN reported that U.S. authorities were on alert for provocations such as North Korea's missile launches during the visits of Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to South Korea and Japan.

North Korea has not launched short-range missiles since last year. Although it launched several short-range missiles in 2019, former U.S. President Donald Trump overlooked them, stating they were not long-range missile launches or nuclear tests. However, short-range missile launches also violate the United Nations Security Council resolutions banning North Korean missile launches.