The North Korean missile, one of at least 10 launched on Wednesday morning, was detected by the South Korean military and the Japanese coast guard. It landed less than 60 kilometers (37 miles) off the coast of the South. A few hours later, South Korea announced that it had fired three surface-to-surface missiles into the sea to the north of the two countries’ maritime border. The transport ministry said some air routes along the east coast were also closed to commercial aircraft. The latest escalation of tensions on the divided peninsula comes after Pyongyang asked the United States and South Korea to halt ongoing large-scale military exercises, saying such “military recklessness and provocation are no longer tolerated.” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said one of the North Korean missiles landed 26 kilometers south of the Northern Limit Line, which serves as the unofficial sea border between the two Koreas. the first time it happened since the Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953. The launch was “highly unusual and completely unacceptable”, the JCS said, adding that it would respond “decisively”. It was one of three short-range missiles fired from the area around Wonsan on North Korea’s east coast at about 8.51am. (23:51 GMT), according to the JCS and an air raid warning was issued for Ulleung Island shortly afterwards. Imagine watching TV this morning to the sound of an air raid alert due to North Korean missiles pic.twitter.com/RrizYAlKXY — Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) November 2, 2022 The missile landed 57 kilometers (35 miles) from the South Korean city of Sokcho on the east coast and 167 kilometers (104 miles) from Ulleung, with an air raid warning for the island broadcast on national television. President Yoon Suk-yeol called a meeting of the National Security Council and condemned the “unprecedented” launches, which came amid a period of national mourning for the 156 people killed in the Itaewon crowd crash over the weekend. Sending a missile south of the NLL “was tantamount to a territorial invasion,” he was quoted as saying in a statement after the NSC met with his office, promising a “swift and firm response” to make North Korea “pay the price of the provocation.” . “Seoul is justified in responding proportionately to Pyongyang’s provocation across the de facto maritime border,” Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, told Al Jazeera. “But eye-for-an-eye shows of force are unlikely to prevent North Korea’s missile tests and could lead to an unintended escalation.” He suggested the South would be better off imposing costs on Pyongyang by multilaterally tightening sanctions and pushing China to lean on North Korea by expanding US-South Korea-Japan security cooperation.
A protest has been filed
North Korea has carried out an unprecedented number of weapons tests this year – now more than double the record launch set in 2019 – and there are expectations that it may soon resume nuclear tests. Japan said it detected two suspected ballistic missiles fired from the North with one flying east and the other southeast. “North Korea has repeatedly launched missiles at an unprecedented rate, in new ways that we have never seen before,” Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday. “These actions threaten the peace and stability of Japan, the wider region, as well as the wider international community and are completely unacceptable.” South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (second left) convened a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) following the North Korean launches in which he promised a “swift and firm response”. [South Korea Presidential Office via AP Photo] Japan has protested the launches through diplomatic channels to Beijing, he added. Pyongyang says its weapons are necessary for “self-defense” and that the recent tests are a warning to Washington and Seoul about joint military exercises it sees as a rehearsal for invasion. This week’s exercises, dubbed Vigilant Storm, began on Monday and are some of the largest by the two allies, involving around 240 warplanes from both sides carrying out virtual attacks 24 hours a day. The White House says such drills are part of the U.S.’s routine training program with South Korea. “We reject the idea that they serve as any kind of provocation. We have made it clear that we have no hostile intent toward the DPRK and we call on it to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said on Tuesday, using North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea . . “The DPRK continues to not respond. At the same time, we will continue to work closely with our allies and partners to limit the North’s ability to advance its illicit weapons programs and threaten regional stability.”
