One of them may have been a long-range nuclear-capable missile with a range of thousands of kilometers. It fell in the Pacific Ocean about 1,100 kilometers east of Japan. The US has condemned the launch. The shooting down was “a clear violation of several resolutions of the UN Security Council”.
This was announced by US State Department spokesman Ned Price on Wednesday (local time). The action shows the danger North Korea’s illegal WMD and ballistic missile programs pose to its neighbors and the region, as well as to international peace and security.
“Absolutely can’t be forgiven”
Together with the international community, the United States called on North Korea to refrain from further provocations and to engage in dialogue, it said. The commitment of the United States to the defense of South Korea and Japan remains “iron”. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said North Korea’s repeated missile launches “absolutely cannot be forgiven.”
In Japan, where Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was staying before his onward journey to South Korea in the evening, the latest North Korean missile test caused confusion. The government in Tokyo had previously corrected initial information that the first longer-range rocket had flown over Japan. The missile disappeared from radar over the Japan Sea. There has been no damage in Japan from the missiles. Residents in some northeastern and central Japan prefectures had previously been asked to remain in their homes for safety.
Always misjudged
Japan and South Korea have a history of misjudging North Korean missile tests, said Ankit Panda of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP), one of the impartial think tanks on international affairs. “Neither country has the highly reliable and desirable space-based infrared sensors available to the United States, which provide instant detection of rocket stages upon firing,” Panda said.
Despite international criticism, North Korea has been carrying out missile tests at an unusually high frequency since the end of September. According to the South Korean military, on Wednesday the country had fired more than 20 rockets on the east and west coasts throughout the day – more than ever in one day. For the first time, a missile landed near South Korean territorial waters, prompting a sharp reaction from Seoul. The US condemned the missile launch, Russia and China called for restraint.
The new North Korean missile tests were seen in South Korea in response to the largest air force exercise by South Korean and US forces in several years. North Korea had accused the two countries of “reckless” military provocations and threatened countermeasures. The multi-day exercises in South Korea will continue until Friday.
Source: Nachrichten
