Seoul, South Korea: The South Korean military reported that North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea on Thursday. This came just a few days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to ready his nuclear forces for combat with its adversaries. The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea reported that it saw missiles fired from the capital of North Korea travel 360 kilometers, or roughly 220 miles, before splashing down in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. While there were no early indications of damage, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave officials instructions to safeguard the safety of ships and aircraft.
It appears that the missiles were intended to strike South Korea based on the stated combat ranges. The launches were denounced by the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea as a provocative act that seriously jeopardizes the stability of the Korean Peninsula. These were North Korea’s first weapons fire events in public for over a fortnight. North Korea announced on July 1st that it has successfully tested a new tactical weapon that can fire a 4.5 ton warhead, which is described as “super-large.”
During a speech on Monday, the 76th anniversary of the founding of his country, Kim pledged to intensify his efforts to ensure that his nuclear force was prepared for any conflict with the US and its allies. Kim made this commitment, claiming that North Korea confronts “a grave threat” as a result of what he described as “the reckless expansion” of a regional military bloc led by the United States that is now evolving into a nuclear-powered one.
In an attempt to refine its ability to conduct strikes on the United States and South Korea, North Korea has substantially increased its nuclear testing activities since 2022. In response, South Korea and the United States have increased military exercises, which North Korea refers to as invasion preparations. While the US and South Korea carried out extensive summertime military drills, Kim continued to refrain from missile launches and other belligerent military displays last month. In the past, North Korea has conducted its own weapons tests in response to significant U.S.-South Korean military exercises.
Prior to the U.S.-South Korea drills, however, Kim called for an unrelenting growth of his nation’s nuclear program and held a large celebration in Pyongyang to commemorate the delivery of 250 nuclear-capable missile launchers to frontline military units. Concerns regarding Kim’s efforts to place nuclear weapons on the battlefield near the tense border with South Korea were heightened by the events on August 4.
