North Korea Launches Ballistic Missiles on President Lee's State Visit to China... Possible Impact of Maduro's Ouster

Launched Several Missiles Near Pyongyang, Flew About 900 km
Demonstrates Presence Ahead of South Korea-China Summit

The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that North Korea launched several ballistic missiles into the East Sea on the morning of January 4. This show of force coincided with President Lee Jaemyung's state visit to China. The launch also took place immediately after the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, which could be interpreted as North Korea sending a message to the United States that "we are different."

The Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, "At approximately 7:50 a.m. today, several ballistic missiles were detected being launched from the vicinity of Pyongyang toward the East Sea," adding, "The detected North Korean missiles flew about 900 kilometers, and the exact specifications are being closely analyzed by South Korea and the United States."

The military reported that the missiles were launched northeast from near Pyongyang and fell into the East Sea between Japan and Russia. Japan's Ministry of Defense stated that it believes North Korea launched two ballistic missiles.

The military assesses that these missiles are likely short-range ballistic missiles of the KN-23 series, known as the "North Korean Iskander." Considering the range and flight trajectory, it is believed that these may be Hwasong-11ma hypersonic missiles, which are KN-23 launch vehicles equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) warhead.

This is North Korea's first ballistic missile launch of the year and the first in about two months since the short-range ballistic missile launch on November 7 last year. It is the third such launch under the Lee Jaemyung administration. The launch took place on the day President Lee departed for a four-day state visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The inter-Korean summit scheduled for January 5 is also expected to address the issue of North Korea's denuclearization, and North Korea's missile launch can be seen as an attempt to assert its presence.

Additionally, the recent ousting of anti-American Venezuelan President Maduro through a U.S. military operation may have influenced this launch. This suggests that North Korea may have sought to highlight that, unlike Venezuela, it possesses military capabilities to confront the United States.

The United States Forces Korea commented on the North Korean missile launch, stating, "This event does not appear to pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, territory, or our allies," and added, "The United States remains steadfastly committed to the defense of the homeland and our regional allies."

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said, "South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities tracked the launch activity and closely shared related information with the United States and Japan," adding, "Our military is closely monitoring North Korea's various activities under a robust South Korea-U.S. joint defense posture and maintains the capability and readiness to overwhelmingly respond to any provocation."