SEOUL — North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the sea on Sunday, its first missile launch in about a month, its neighboring countries said. Pyongyang expected to stoke regional tensions in an election year for its rivals South Korea y USA.
The South Korean General Staff reported the launch from the eastern coast of North Korea, but initially did not give details such as how far the projectile had traveled.
The Japanese Defense Ministry also said it had detected a possible North Korean ballistic missile launch. The Japanese Coast Guard, citing the Defense Ministry, said the suspected missile was believed to have fallen into the ocean.
It was the country’s first missile launch of 2024. Its last public missile test was on December 18, when it launched its solid-fuel Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile, Pyongyang’s most advanced weapon. The Hwasong-18 is designed to reach the continental United States.
In recent days, Pyongyang has been increasing its bellicose rhetoric against its rivals. The mandatary Kim Jong Un He described South Korea this week as “our main enemy” and threatened to annihilate it if provoked, North Korean state media said Wednesday.
Increased hostility
Sunday’s launch came a few days after North Korea launched a series of artillery shells near the tense maritime border with South Korea, prompting Seoul to conduct similar firing exercises in that area. It is the same region where the navies of the two Koreas have fought three bloody naval battles since 1999 and attacks attributed to North Korea killed 50 South Koreans in 2010.
Experts say Kim will likely increase hostility by launching more missiles, and perhaps limited physical attacks on South Korea to try to raise the stakes in the fight with his rivals and influence the results of the South Korean parliamentary elections in April and the presidential elections. from the United States in November.
Kim likely wants South Korean progressives to call for rapprochement with North Korea while maintaining a parliamentary majority, experts say, and hopes to get former President Donald Trump re-elected in the United States.
In the opinion of analysts, the North Korean president could believe that he would obtain concessions such as sanctions relief if Trump returns to the White House.
At a key ruling party meeting in late December, Kim vowed to expand his nuclear arsenal and launch more spy satellites to deal with what he described as U.S.-led confrontational maneuvers.
Source: With information from AP
