Seoul and Tokyo reported on Saturday of the shooting of two ballistic missiles in the aftermath of the holding of trilateral anti-sous-marine exercises by the two capitals and Washington.
Le Monde
After launching short-range ballistic missiles on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, only a few hours after the departure of South Korea of the American vice-president, Kamala Harris, Pyongyang proceeded, on Saturday 1 SUP> October, to shoot two ballistic missiles according to the South Korean army. This is the fourth launch of this kind in a week.
In the aftermath of the holding of anti-sous-marine trilateral exercises by Seoul, Tokyo and Washington, the South Korean armed forces said on Saturday that they “detected two short-range missiles between 6:45 a.m. and 7 a.m. 03 drawn from the Sunan area, in Pyongyang “, to the Japan Sea. The two machines “stole [over a distance] of approximately 350 kilometers, at an altitude of 30 kilometers [and] at the speed of Mach 6”, according to a press release from the South Korean joint chief of staff, qualifying These “serious provocation” shots.
Japan also reported the manifest launch of two ballistic missiles, adding that these missiles seemed to have finished their race outside the exclusive economic zones of Japan. According to Japanese defense minister, Toshiro Ino, missiles “seem to have followed irregular trajectories”. “North Korea has multiplied its missile shots at an unprecedented rate,” he said.
missiles more difficult to intercept
According to experts, irregular trajectories show that missiles are able to be maneuvered in flight, which makes them more difficult to follow and intercept. The American command in the region estimated, in a press release, that these last shots of missiles highlighted “the ability to destabilize illegal programs of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles” from North Korea. >
Seoul, Tokyo and Washington led on Friday anti-sous-marine trilateral exercises for the first time in five years, a few days after the American and South Korean naval forces led large-scale maneuvers offshore of the peninsula.
The American vice-president, Kamala Harris, was on Thursday in Seoul and visited the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas, during a trip aimed at highlighting Washington’s “unshakable” commitment to Washington Defend South Korea against North Korea.
Pyongyang has intensified its prohibited arms programs while negotiations have long been in the deadlock, which has led to a record number of arms tests this year and pushed Pyongyang to review its legislation to make ” irreversible “its nuclear power status.
The United States has some 28,500 soldiers in South Korea to help him face the threat of an attack on North Korea. Since taking office in May of the South Korean president, Yoon Suk-Yeol, the two countries have intensified their joint exercises, whose purely defensive character they highlight, but which Pyongyang considers repetitions of an invasion.
A new nuclear test?
Shortly before the arrival in Seoul of M Me Harris, an American aircraft carrier accosted in South Korea to perform a common naval exercise, in a procedure of force with regard to Pyongyang.
“The short-range ballistic missile tests by North Korea are less important than a nuclear test but they still violate the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council”, observes Leif-Eric Easley, professor at The Ewha de Seoul University, adding that the chosen calendar was “provocative”. Pyongyang quickly modernizes its weapons and takes advantage of a world divided by the rivalry between the United States and China and the annexation by Russia of new Ukrainian territories, “he comments. “Pyongyang’s actions clearly demonstrate the need for Washington and Seoul clearly to strengthen their military deterrence, harden economic sanctions and increase [strategic] coordination with Tokyo,” he said.
of American and South Korean officials repeatedly warned that the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un prepared to conduct a new nuclear test. On Wednesday, South Korean information estimated that it could take place between the next Congress of the Chinese Communist Party on October 16, and the mid-term elections in the United States, November 8.