Seoul’s Defense Ministry revealed that North Korea fired two cruise missiles on Wednesday, ending a month-long pause in Pyongyang’s record series of weapons tests this year.
“Early this morning, we found out that North Korea fired two cruise missiles into the West Sea off Uncheon in South Pyongan Province,” a ministry official told AFP. US and South Korean military officials study detailed specifications such as flight distance.
North Korea has not tested a cruise missile – which has not been banned under UN sanctions against the country – since January, Yonhap News Agency reported. The last time Pyongyang conducted a weapons test was on July 10, when it launched what appeared to be several rocket launchers.
North Korea has conducted a series of sanctions-suppressive tests since January, including the launch of a full-range ICBM for the first time since 2017. Officials in Washington and Seoul have also warned that the isolated regime is preparing to carry out what may be its seventh nuclear test.
Earlier this week, the military forces of South Korea and the United States began preliminary exercises ahead of the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise. The exercises infuriated Pyongyang, which saw it as a rehearsal for the invasion.
South Korea says it will not take the path of nuclear deterrence
The South Korean president said today that his government has no plans to block the path of nuclear deterrence, after increasing North Korea’s nuclear weapons capabilities. Yoon Seok Yeol urged Pyongyang to resume talks and diplomacy aimed at exchanging the stages of North Korea’s denuclearization with economic benefits.
Yoon’s office said South Korea’s National Security Director Kim Sung Han discussed the launch with other officials before Yoon addressed reporters at a news conference and emphasized South Korea’s military readiness.
Yoon told reporters that South Korea does not want forced political change in North Korea, and called for a return to negotiations to build sustainable peace.
Specifically, Yoon Ho’s proposal includes large-scale aid in food, medicine, health and in modernizing energy and port infrastructure, similar to previous South Korean offers that North Korea has rejected, to accelerate the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sees It is a major guarantee of his survival.
However, Yoon expressed hope for a “meaningful dialogue” with North Korea about his plan, and emphasized that Seoul is ready to offer corresponding economic rewards at every stage of the denuclearization process if North Korea sticks to a real “road map” to abandon its weapons program.
