North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile into East Sea... Response to ROK-US-Japan Anti-Submarine Drill and Armed Forces Day (Comprehensive)

SRBM Launch from Pyongyang Sunan Area between 6:45 AM and 7:03 AM

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] North Korea launched ballistic missiles into the East Sea on the 1st, the Korean Armed Forces Day.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff detected two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) launched from the Pyongyang Sunan area toward the East Sea from around 6:45 a.m. to 7:03 a.m. that day. The military authorities are analyzing specifications such as range, altitude, and speed.

The military stated that it has strengthened surveillance and vigilance, maintaining a full readiness posture against additional provocations through close cooperation between South Korea and the United States.

This marks the 20th ballistic missile launch by North Korea this year. They have also launched cruise missiles twice. Since the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration in May, this is the eighth launch. In the past week alone, four ballistic missile launches have occurred.

That day was Korea’s Armed Forces Day, with a large-scale commemorative ceremony held at Gyeryongdae in Chungnam Province. It is possible that North Korea’s provocation was aimed at the ceremony showcasing advanced Korean 3-axis systems and other cutting-edge forces responding to nuclear and missile threats.

There is also analysis that the provocation was a reaction to the accelerating military cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile advancements.

Since launching one ground-to-ground short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) from the Taechon area in North Pyongan Province on the 25th of last month, North Korea launched two SRBMs from the Pyongyang Sunan area on the 28th, and two SRBMs from the Sunchon area in South Pyongan Province on the 29th, all toward the East Sea.

South Korea and the United States have been conducting joint naval exercises since the 26th. Additionally, South Korea, the United States, and Japan conducted a joint anti-submarine exercise from morning to evening the previous day in the East Sea international waters east of Dokdo, simulating tracking and detecting a North Korean submarine equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).

The U.S. carrier strike group, consisting of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), and Aegis destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52), entered Busan Port on the 23rd of last month and participated in the exercises as U.S. forces.

North Korea’s provocation is also interpreted as targeting U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s visit to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the 29th of last month, where she criticized North Korea’s ballistic missile launch program.