North Korea launches a new intercontinental ballistic missile On Thursday (October 31, 2024) the first test in almost a year of a weapon designed to threaten the US mainland was conducted and it comes just days before the US election.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who ordered the missile test and was at the launch site, described the launch as an “appropriate military action” to show North Korea’s resolve to respond to its enemies’ moves, thereby There is a security threat, according to its Defense Ministry.
The United States, South Korea and Japan also identified the weapon as an ICBM and condemned the launch that escalated tensions. The launch came as Washington warned that North Korean troops in Russian uniforms were moving toward Ukraine, adding to the possibility of Russian forces moving in and joining the war.
North Korea confirmed the launch hours after its neighbors learned that the firing aimed at the mainland US was a new, more powerful weapon. The statement was unusually quick as North Korea usually describes its weapons tests a day after they occur.
South Korea and Japan condemn North Korean launch
“I affirm that the DPRK will never change its line of increasing its nuclear forces,” Mr. Kim said, according to a North Korean Defense Ministry statement carried by state media. DPRK stands for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which is the official name of North Korea.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea may have tested a new, solid-fueled long-range ballistic missile. Missiles with built-in solid propellant are easier to carry and conceal and can be launched faster than liquid-propellant weapons.
JCS spokesman Lee Sung Joon said the launch was likely timed to the US election in an effort to strengthen North Korea’s future bargaining power. He said the North Korean missile was apparently launched at a high angle to avoid neighboring countries.
Japanese Defense Minister General Nakatani told reporters that the missile had a flight duration of 86 minutes and a maximum altitude of more than 7,000 kilometers (4,350 mi), exceeding data from previous North Korean missile tests. South Korean military spokesman Lee said South Korea has a similar assessment of Thursday’s launch.
KCNA said the flight characteristics of this launch exceeded those registered for its previous missile launches, but did not elaborate on the differences.
US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett called the launch a “gross violation” of multiple UN Security Council resolutions that “needlessly escalates tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region.” Mr Savett said the US would take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the US homeland and its South Korean and Japanese allies.
Both South Korea and Japan condemned the North Korean launches as a threat to international peace and said they were coordinating closely with the US on the latest North Korean weapons test. Lee said South Korea and the US are planning “substantial” bilateral military exercises and trilateral exercises involving Japan in response to North Korea’s threats.
Li said the missile would have been fired from a 12-axle launch vehicle, the North’s largest mobile launch platform, which it unveiled in September. The unveiling of the vehicle led to speculation that North Korea could develop an ICBM that would be larger than its existing ICBMs.
North Korea has made advances in its missile technologies in recent years, but many foreign experts believe the country has yet to acquire a functioning nuclear-armed missile that could strike the US mainland. He says North Korea probably has short-range missiles that could launch a nuclear attack on all of South Korea.
One of the technological hurdles North Korea still faces is the ability of its weapons to survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry. South Korean officials and experts have previously said North Korea may test an ICBM at a normal angle to verify that capability.
Li said a high-angle launch like Thursday’s test cannot test a missile’s re-entry vehicle technology. He said more analysis is needed to find out why North Korea did not conduct a standard-trajectory launch on Thursday.
North Korea’s possible involvement in Ukraine war
Over the past two years, Mr Kim has used Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a window to escalate weapons tests and threats, while also expanding military cooperation with Moscow. South Korea, the US and others have recently accused North Korea of sending thousands of troops to support Russia’s fight against Ukraine. He said that North Korea has already sent artillery, missiles and other transportation weapons to Russia.
North Korea’s possible involvement in Ukraine war Would mark a serious increase. South Korea, the United States and their partners are also concerned about what North Korea might get from Russia in exchange for its involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine. In addition to paying his troops, experts say Kim Jong Un hopes to acquire high-tech Russian technology that could improve his nuclear-capable missiles and build a reliable space-based surveillance system . Kim also wants Russian fighter jets and help modernizing North Korea’s conventional weapons.
On Wednesday (October 30, 2024), Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment are moving towards Ukraine, which he called a dangerous and destabilizing development. Mr Austin said the “likelihood is very high” that Russia would use troops in the war.
Mr Austin spoke at a news conference in Washington alongside South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol last week raised the possibility of arms supplies to Ukraine, while stressing that his government “will not sit idly by” over North Korea’s reported troop build-up.
South Korea said on Wednesday (Oct 30, 2024) that North Korea has sent more than 11,000 troops to Russia and more than 3,000 of them have been moved closer to battlefields in western Russia.
published – October 31, 2024 01:41 PM IST