Seoul, South Korea On Friday, the South Korean military reported that North Korea launched suspected short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast. This occurred one day after the United States and South Korea conducted a joint exercise of formidable fighter jets that the North considers a significant security threat.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea reported that the projectiles were launched from the Wonsan region on the east coast of North Korea at 3:10 p.m. The South Korean military was reported to be maintaining readiness and had strengthened its surveillance posture.
In recent months, North Korea has extended its series of weapons tests as part of its ongoing effort to modernize and enhance its arsenal. At the same time, diplomatic relations between the United States and South Korea have persisted. North Korean state media agencies have reported that Kim Jong Un was responsible for the trial launch of a new multiple rocket launch system last week.
According to North Korea, the United States’ hostilities have necessitated the escalation of its nuclear and missile programs. North Korea regards the expansion of U.S.-South Korean military exercises as an invasion practice.
Numerous foreign specialists contend that North Korea is constructing a more extensive weapons arsenal in order to increase its leverage in future diplomatic negotiations with the United States, while rival nations are conducting military exercises.
On May 17, 2024, a news program was broadcast at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, during which a digital image of a North Korean missile launch was displayed on a television screen.
Two South Korean F-35As and two American F-22 Raptors were mobilized on Thursday to conduct joint aerial exercises over the central region of South Korea. North Korea becomes alerted by the deployment of highly advanced U.S. aircraft.
Kim Yo Jong, a senior official and the sister of Kim Jong, declared earlier on Friday that the most recent weapons tests conducted by North Korea were in compliance with the country’s five-year arms development plan, which was implemented in 2021. The weapons that were recently tested were not intended to be a demonstration of weaponry that North Korea intended to export to Russia for use in its conflict with Ukraine, as she denied rumors. She also stated that the weapons are specifically designed to initiate an assault on Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
“We do not conceal the fact that such weapons will be employed to prevent Seoul from conceiving vain notions,” Kim Yo Jong stated in a statement that was carried by state media.
In response, the Unification Ministry of South Korea, which is responsible for its relations with North Korea, asserted that its military alliance with the United States allows it to fend off any military threats from North Korea. Kim Inae, the ministry’s deputy spokesperson, further stated that “illegal” arms transactions between North Korea and Russia must be immediately halted.
Pyongyang had delivered approximately 7,000 containers of munitions intended for use in Ukraine to Russia since July 2023, Seoul claimed in March, according to Agence France-Presse.
North Korea is requesting a diverse array of military assistance from Russia in exchange, including the modernization of its military equipment from the Soviet era and satellite technology, according to experts.
