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An artificial flag flies at the Cultural Center in Gijeong-dong Village, North Korea, as seen from Panmunjeom Post Office 3 in Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 4th. From the 25th to the 9th of last month, a the day before its party was founded, North Korea fired different types of missiles alternately a total of seven times for a full month.
North Korea continued to fire missiles one day before the so-called “Double Ten Days (October 10)”, the anniversary of the founding of the Korean Workers’ Party.
On the 9th, the South Korean Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) said: “From 1:48 to 1:58, North Korea detected two short-range ballistic missiles launched into the East Sea from Muncheon (north of Wonsan) in Gangwon -do. ” 5 (5 times the speed of sound), with a maximum altitude of about 90 km and a maximum speed of about 350 km.
Since the 25th of last month, North Korea has launched different types of missiles seven times in total for fifteen days. Several types of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) have been launched six times, but on the 4th, an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that flew 4,500km over Japan, has particularly exacerbated international tensions.
Blocking aspects “Korea-USA-Japan” versus “North Korea-China-Russia”
North Korea is shifting responsibility for its recent missile launches to the “ongoing direct military threat from the United States”.
The statement by a spokesman for the National Aviation Administration and a question and answer from a spokesman for the North Korean Ministry of Defense announced on the 8th contained this content, arguing that the missile test was a “normal and planned measure of self-defense.”
The period that North Korea has continued to test missiles over the past two days overlaps with the period of joint maritime exercises between South Korea and the United States and between South Korea and Japan.
Previously, the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike group arrived in Busan on the 23rd of last month and conducted a combined ROK-US naval exercise for four days from the 26th to the 29th.
Participants of the Standing Committee of the National Security Council (NSC), held immediately after the North Korean missile launch on the 9th, urged the ROK army to prepare thoroughly for the future by discouraging and joining North Korea. through the ROK-US joint exercise, including the deployment of US strategic assets and security cooperation between the US and Japan, stressing that the defensive stance will be further strengthened.
Meanwhile, the US government has repeatedly condemned North Korea’s ballistic missile launches. In a statement on behalf of a spokesperson for North Korea’s SRBM launch on the 9th (now Korean), the US State Department said: “This is a violation of many UN Security Council resolutions. and poses a threat to North Korea’s neighbors and the international community. ” “The US defense promise is firm,” he added.
In particular, after the IRBM launched from North Korea on the 4th flew over Japan for about 4,500 km, the USA requested the convening of an open meeting of the UN Security Council for the 5th (local time). At the Security Council meeting, the United States stressed that North Korea’s subsequent ballistic missile launches were “in violation of Security Council resolutions”.
However, China and Russia disagreed, stating: “The US is also responsible for increasing the threat of military competition by conducting joint military exercises with other countries in the region.” In the end, the Security Council ended without results, confirming only the divergence of positions between those who condemned North Korea, such as South Korea (participating as stakeholders), the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom, and those who insisted on the theory of responsibility for the United States, such as China, Russia and North Korea.
China and Russia, which are permanent members of the Security Council, participated in the resolution of sanctions against North Korea at the Security Council level until the end of 2017, when North Korea launched its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM ) Hwasong-15 and conducted its sixth nuclear test. However, after the intensification of strategic competition between the US and China in recent years and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February, China and Russia have taken a different stance than the US on the issue of sanctions against North Korea. .
