SEOUL – North Korea tested two short-range cruise missiles over the weekend, South Korean defense officials confirmed on Wednesday, adding to a series of provocations and statements seen as warnings to Washington.
The test was carried out on the west coast of North Korea on Sunday, just days after the country accused the United States and South Korea of creating “a stink” on the Korean Peninsula with its annual military exercises. It did not violate United Nations resolutions, which prohibit North Korea from developing or testing ballistic missile technologies. However, it marked the country’s first missile test since President Biden took office in January.
When North Korea launches missile tests, they are generally celebrated by the state media and quickly confirmed by the South Korean military. But North Korean media did not report on Sunday’s test. South Korean officials said on Wednesday that they detected the test when it occurred, but decided not to report it immediately. They did not elaborate their decision.
South Korean defense officials tend to find short-range cruise missile tests less provocative than ballistic launches. They also tend not to highlight what they see as small provocations from the North when trying to promote intercorean dialogue. Sill, when North Korea launched short-range cruise missiles off the east coast in April last year, they were promptly confirmed by South Korea. In that case, South Korean authorities only confirmed the test after it was reported by first time by The Washington Post.
The missiles were launched from a location near Nampo, a port southwest of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, at 6:36 am on Sunday, said Ha Tae-keung, a South Korean lawmaker who was informed by intelligence officials on Wednesday. market. Intelligence officials said South Korean military officials agreed with their American colleagues not to disclose the tests, according to Ha.
South Korea and the United States completed their 10-day annual military exercises last week. North Korea generally responds to these exercises by conducting its own exercises, which sometimes involve missile tests.
Officials and analysts in the region have been watching North Korea closely to see if the country would increase tensions to gain an advantage before possible negotiations with the Biden government.
North Korea has rejected any serious dialogue with Washington since the second summit between its leader, Kim Jong-un, and former President Donald J. Trump, which ended abruptly in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2019. Kim and Trump failed to reach an agreement on how quickly the North would dismantle its nuclear program or when Washington would provide sanctions relief.
Pyongyang has made several hostile statements to the United States in the past few days, and analysts said the missile test may be part of a subtle pressure tactic, increasing the possibility that North Korea will return to a new cycle of tensions on the peninsula to squeeze out. the Washington grants.
“Pyongyang, through these new missile tests, is signaling to the Biden team that its military capabilities will continue to become more powerful with each passing day,” Harry J. Kazianis, senior director of Korean studies at the Center of National Interest, with Washington-based, said in a comment sent by email.
The Biden government has stepped up efforts to work more closely with its regional allies, South Korea and Japan, to better deal with North Korea’s growing arms capacity, as well as with a rising China. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III visited Seoul and Tokyo last week as part of the government’s first high-level diplomatic trip to Asia.
President Biden plans to complete a review of North Korea’s policy in the coming weeks, in close coordination with South Korea and Japan, Blinken said in Seoul. He said the review included “pressure options and potential for future diplomacy”. During his visit, Blinken also criticized North Korea’s human rights record and what he called Kim’s “repressive government” and his “widespread and systematic abuses”.
Washington made a breakthrough last week, when a North Korean citizen was extradited to the United States for the first time. A Malaysian court has agreed to extradite the North Korean businessman, who is due to stand trial in an American court on charges of money laundering and violation of international sanctions. North Korea accused Washington of being a “behind-the-scenes manipulator” in the case and warned that it “would pay the price due”.
He also said that he felt no need to respond to the recent attempts by the Biden government to establish a dialogue, dismissing them as a “retardation trick”.
While Washington strengthens its alliances with Tokyo and Seoul, Kim and Xi Jinping, the leader of China, promise to bring their two communist countries closer together.
In a message to Mr. Xi released in the North Korean media this week, Mr. Kim emphasized the need to strengthen unity between the two countries in order to “deal with hostile forces”. In his own message to Mr. Kim, Mr. Xi promised to help preserve “peace and stability” on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea’s latest missile test suggests that Kim “will tolerate continued economic dependence on China to get out of the pandemic in the offensive against Washington and Seoul,” said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.