[Comprehensive] North Fires Ballistic Missile After Five Days... In Response to Joint Military Exercises

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] North Korea launched an unidentified ballistic missile into the East Sea on the 29th. This is the third missile launch in the past five days.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the day, the range, altitude, speed, and other specifications are being analyzed, but it is highly likely to be a ballistic missile.

North Korea launched one short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) from the Taechon area in North Pyongan Province into the East Sea on the 25th. Then, on the 28th, it launched two SRBMs from the Sunan area in Pyongyang into the East Sea, firing missiles three times in the past five days. North Korea has launched ballistic missiles 19 times and cruise missiles twice this year. Since the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, this is the seventh missile launch.

The South Korea-U.S. Navy has been conducting joint maritime exercises in the East Sea Korean Theater of Operations (KTO) from the 26th through the day. The U.S. carrier strike group, including the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), and Aegis destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52), entered the Busan operational base on the 23rd.

The launch is also seen as targeting the visit of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who visited the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the day. Vice President Harris criticized North Korea at Panmunjom within the DMZ, saying the DMZ dramatically shows the different paths taken by the North and South since the Korean War, with South Korea becoming a prosperous democracy while "North Korea has a brutal dictatorship, illegal weapons programs, and human rights abuses."

She continued, "North Korea has a ballistic missile launch program and, including just yesterday, is destabilizing peace and stability in the region," condemning the regime. North Korea carried out another provocation shortly after she left South Korea.

On the 30th, South Korea, the U.S., and Japan plan to conduct a joint anti-submarine warfare exercise from early morning to evening in international waters east of Dokdo in the East Sea, simulating tracking and detecting a North Korean submarine equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).