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North Korea fired a ballistic missile from a submarine (SLBM) into the sea on Tuesday, the South Korean army reported on Tuesday, in the latest in a series of war tests by Pyongyang in recent weeks. “Our army detected an unidentified short-range ballistic missile presumed to be a ballistic missile fired from a submarine by North Korea, launched in waters east of Sinpo, in South Hamgyong province, in the East Sea (name that receives the Sea of Japan in the two Koreas) at 10.17 am (3.17 am, Spanish peninsular time) today, ”said the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff in a statement.
A source consulted by the South Korean news agency Yonhap assured that the missile flew between 430 and 450 kilometers and reached a maximum height of 60, which would confirm that it is a short-range projectile. Sinpo, on the northeast coast, is where North Korea has its submersible development center, and the place from which it has tested its Pukguksong (Pole Star) class SLBMs, which use solid fuel.
Pyongyang was able to successfully test its first SLBM in 2016 by launching the Pukguksong 1 and again successfully tested this type of projectile by launching the Pukguksong 3 in October 2019. Last week, the regime exhibited several Pukguksong missiles in the North Korean capital, including the Pukguksong 4 (which has not been tested so far) and one with a smaller wingspan not seen to date that some analysts believe could be the projectile launched today.
Following the launch, the South Korean presidency said it called a meeting of the National Security Council. The nuclear-armed North has tested long-range cruise missiles, a train-launched weapon and what it called a hypersonic missile in recent weeks, generating international consternation.
The North Korean rehearsal coincided with the meeting in Washington on Monday of Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea with his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk, ahead of a trialogue meeting on Tuesday that It will include senior Japanese official Takehiro Funakoshi. “We will seek diplomatic channels with North Korea to increase the security of the United States and our allies,” Kim said. “We do not have any hostile intention towards the North and we hope to meet with them soon without conditions,” he clarified. But he also added that allies have “a responsibility to implement UN Security Council resolutions,” referring to the sanctions that North Korea hopes to see lifted.
From Japan, the Japanese government has condemned the launch and denounced that this weapons test violates UN resolutions. “This launch threatens the peace and security of Japan and the area, and added to the previous tests, it is a serious problem for the international community,” the vice-speaker of the Japanese Government, Yoshihiko Isozaki, said at a press conference. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has interrupted a trip to Fukushima prefecture, where he was going to start the electoral campaign for the elections on October 31, after the launch of the North Korean missile. The Japanese Executive has called a security meeting, at the same time that the protest to the neighboring country has already begun through diplomatic channels. “Since 2019, North Korea has been repeating the launch of ballistic missiles frequently and it is obvious that it maintains the objective of improving this technology,” said Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi.
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On the other hand, a group of ten military ships from China and Russia have sailed this Monday through the Tsugaru Strait, which separates the Sea of Japan from the Pacific Ocean. This is the first time that the Japanese Government has confirmed the joint passage of Chinese and Russian ships through that place which, although they are international waters, is not without controversy. Tokyo and Beijing dispute several islets east of the China Sea and in turn Tokyo and Moscow have other territorial conflicts. “The Government is closely watching the activity of Chinese and Russian ships in this area with high interest. We will continue to monitor activity in the waters and airspace around Japan, ”said the vice-speaker of the Japanese Government, Yoshihiko Isozaki.
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