The military of South Korea and Japan are currently analyzing the launch to clarify more details.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported today that it has detected the launch of an unidentified projectile from North Korea and in the direction of the Sea of Japan (east), the fourth Pyongyang test so far this month.
The brief statement from the South Korean army did not provide more information about the projectile, while the Japan Coast Guard reported that it could be a ballistic missile and that it would have fallen into the water around 9:03 (1:03 GMT Monday) today.
The military of South Korea and Japan are currently analyzing the launch to clarify more details.
It is the fourth launch of this type that Pyongyang has carried out this month of January, after on the 5th and 11th it fired what it claims are hypersonic missiles, and on the 14th it launched two guided missiles from a train after threatening to respond “stronger” to the new US sanctions against North Koreans.
The United States last week approved sanctions against North Korean citizens whom it accuses of providing materials and technology for the regime’s weapons program from abroad, to which North Korea responded with a third launch and a fourth carried out today.
The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, also said last week that Washington is pressing for the Security Council to impose additional sanctions on the Asian country as punishment for all the launches it has carried out since last September.
Washington estimates that North Korea used ballistic missiles in these tests, which violates previous sanctioning resolutions approved since 2006 as punishment for the North Korean weapons program.
In a message broadcast on the New Year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un avoided sending a message to the US and assured that the regime’s priority is the national economy and the strengthening of national defense.
Kim himself last year rejected US offers to try to resume talks on denuclearization, stalled since 2019. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
