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“Tense Escalation: North Korea Launches Cruise Missiles in Response to the Arrival of a US Submarine”
North Korea today fired several cruise missiles into the Yellow Sea (called the West Sea in both Koreas), according to the South Korean Army, a provocation that would be an apparent response to the arrival in South Korea of a US submarine and a meeting between Seoul and Washington.
South Korean and US intelligence, which is analyzing these launches, said they took place around 4 a.m. today (7:00 p.m. Friday GMT), although the type and other details are still unknown, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) explained in a statement.
The launch comes three days after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan (called the East Sea by the two Koreas), in another apparent response to the arrival in the South of a US submarine loaded with atomic weapons and the holding of the first meeting of the so-called Nuclear Consultation Council (NCG) between the allies.
“Our military has stepped up vigilance, while cooperating closely with the United States and maintaining a firm stance of readiness,” the JCS said in the statement, adding that it is closely monitoring any further activity the North might take up.
Following the first NCG session this week, US National Security Council Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell announced the arrival in Busan (350 kilometers southeast of Seoul) of the USS Kentucky, an atomic-powered submarine capable of carrying nuclear ballistic missiles (SSBNs), the first of its kind to visit South Korea in some 40 years.
Both the establishment of the NCG and the dispatch of the submarine were agreed upon last April with the signing of the Washington Declaration by the presidents of the US and South Korea, Joe Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol.
In the document, the US promised to reinforce the so-called “extended deterrence”, through which it protects its ally and seeks to discourage Pyongyang from continuing with the development of weapons of mass destruction.
Today’s release also comes after a US soldier crossed the border into North Korea on Wednesday during a tourist visit, where he is currently being held.
2023-07-23 11:05:40
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