Heightened Hostilities: North Korea’s ICBM Launches Amidst US Soldier’s Detention
Just hours after detaining a US soldier from its side of the demilitarized zone (DMZ), North Korea conducted the launch of two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) early Wednesday, raising tensions in the region as a nuclear submarine is currently docked at a South Korean port.
The arrival of the submarine, after four decades, aims to enhance the defense capabilities of South Korea and its neighboring allies against North Korea’s increasing military preparedness and weapons development.
According to the Japanese Defense Ministry, both missiles fell outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
In response to the launches, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) called on North Korea to cease such actions.
“We strongly condemn North Korea’s successive ballistic missile launches as serious provocative acts that undermine the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the international community. These launches are a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions,” the JCS stated in a released statement.
The US military acknowledged the missile launches and stated that it was closely consulting with its allies and partners.
“While the launches do not appear to pose an immediate threat to the US or its allies, they highlight the destabilizing impact of North Korea’s illicit weapons program,” said the US Indo-Pacific Command in a statement.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada provided details about the missiles, stating, “The first missile reached an altitude of 50 km (31 miles) and covered a range of 550 km, while the second one rose as high as 50 km and flew 600 km.” Japan has lodged a diplomatic protest against the missile launches.
These missile launches occurred nearly a week after North Korea tested its latest Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile, which Pyongyang claimed was a warning to the US and its adversaries.
The firing of missiles follows the incident on Tuesday when US soldier Private 2nd Class Travis King, who was being escorted back to the US for disciplinary reasons, entered North Korea, triggering a fresh crisis between Washington and Pyongyang.
“While North Korea’s latest missile launches are likely unrelated to the incident of an American soldier crossing the inter-Korean border, such incidents do not help the situation,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
“North Korea undoubtedly opposes the formation of a new US-South Korea nuclear war planning group, which had its first meeting on Tuesday, as well as the visit of the US nuclear ballistic missile submarine,” he added.
