Citizens watch a television news program on North Korea's missile launch, Thursday morning at Suseo Station in Seoul. The North launched two short-range missiles which were assumed to be ballistic missiles at around 7 a.m. Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
North Korea is ratcheting up tension to test U.S. President Joe Biden's policy toward Pyongyang, firing two more projectiles assumed to be ballistic missiles into the East Sea, Thursday, just four days after the regime launched cruise missiles.
Diplomatic observers say the totalitarian state may opt for a more serious provocation such as an intercontinental ballistic missile or even a nuclear test unless the United States ditches its hostile policies. The new U.S. government is in the final stages of deciding on its new North Korea policy and plans to host national security advisers of South Korea and Japan next week to discuss it.
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the two short-range missiles were fired from South Hamgyong Province in North Korea at 7:06 a.m. and 7:25 a.m., respectively. The missiles flew about 450 kilometers into the East Sea on an apogee of 60 kilometers.
Following the launch, the South Korean government held a National Security Council (NSC) meeting and expressed "deep concerns" on the launch which came amid the U.S.' North Korea policy review, as well as pledging to strengthen consultations with related countries in analyzing the backdrop and the intentions of the launch.
"This activity highlights the threat that North Korea's illicit weapons program poses to its neighbors and the international community," said Capt. Mike Kafka, the spokesman of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
The NSC said it will analyze the specifications of the projectiles through cooperation between Korean and U.S. defense and intelligence offices, and the JCS will later explain the details of the missiles.
Though South Korean authorities did not specify the type of projectiles, a JCS official said they see a high possibility they were ballistic missiles. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has already said the North Korean weapons were ballistic missiles and the U.S. also believes they are short-range ballistic missiles.
