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North Korea fired four short-range ballistic missiles this Saturday, in new launches that add to the long series carried out this week and that coincided with the final day of the largest air maneuvers organized by Washington and Seoul.
North Korea launched a new missile launch on the morning of this Saturday, November 5, in response to joint military maneuvers carried out by the United States and South Korea.
The South Korean military detected the launch “from Tongrim, North Pyongan province, to the West Sea between 11:32 a.m. and 11:59 a.m. today,” the South Korean country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, in which uses another name to refer to the Yellow Sea.
North Korea has launched some thirty ballistic missiles this week. One of them fell into South Korean territorial waters.
The United States and South Korea believe that this barrage of fire may culminate in a nuclear test by North Korea, the first since 2017.
On Friday, Washington and Seoul decided to extend by one day joint military exercises dubbed “Storm Watcher,” which began on Monday.
A US B-1B strategic bomber took part in the air exercises on Saturday, marking the first flight of such an aircraft on the Korean peninsula since December 2017.
Experts point out that the communist regime led by Kim Jong Un has been especially irritated by these maneuvers, the largest ever carried out by Seoul and Washington, with hundreds of planes mobilized by each side.
Significant threat
On other occasions, North Korea has already expressed its anger at the deployment of US strategic weapons, such as B-1B bombers or aircraft carriers, usually sent to the area at times of high tension.
Although the B-1B is no longer equipped with nuclear weapons, the US Air Force defines it as “the backbone of America’s long-range bombers,” which can strike anywhere in the world.
An expert on North Korean affairs, Ahn Chan-il, told AFP that given the fact that the United States views the B-1B as a key strategic element, its deployment may be seen by North Korea as a “significant threat.” “.
On Friday, South Korea launched dozens of fighters after detecting the mobilization of 180 North Korean planes.
Experts say Pyongyang is also particularly sensitive to these maneuvers because the air force is one of its military’s weak points, lacking high-tech fighter jets and properly trained pilots.
Compared to the aging North Korean fleet, the exercises Storm Watcher they have served to show the most modern combat aircraft from the United States and South Korea, including the F-35 fighters, in action.
Speaking at the UN Security Council on Friday, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield dismissed criticism of the moves as North Korean “propaganda,” saying they pose no threat to other countries.
The diplomat accused China and Russia of having protected North Korea, which has “mocked” the Security Council with this unprecedented launch of missiles, which aggravated tensions on the Korean peninsula.
But China, the Pyongyang regime’s closest ally, and Russia, whose relations with the West have deteriorated since it invaded Ukraine last February, accuse the United States of provoking North Korea.
(with the AFP)
