The South Korean military has claimed that North Korea on Monday fired at least one ballistic missile into its eastern seas. The move is being seen as North's attempt to intensify its heightened weapons testing activities into 2025 weeks as Donald Trump is set to return as US president. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff didn't confirm the number of missiles North Korea fired or how far they flew.
Missile fired amid Blinken's visit to Seoul
Notably, this comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is undertaking a visit to Seoul to hold talks with South Korean allies over the North Korean nuclear threat as well as other issues. Blinken's visit comes amid a situation of political instability in South Korea after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached following his decision to impose martial law, which was short-lived.
According to experts, Yoon's martial law decision puts Seoul at a disadvantage in getting a steady footing with Trump ahead of his return to the White House.
Kim's recent warning to US
Recently, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to implement the “toughest” anti-US policy, while criticising the Biden administration's efforts to strengthen security cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo, which he described as a “nuclear military bloc for aggression.”
Moreover, the North Korean state media has not yet specified Kim's policy plans or mentioned any specific comments about Trump. During his first term, Trump met Kim three times for talks on the North's nuclear program.
Experts are of the view that the Trump-Kim talks are not likely to resume soon as the newly elected US President will most probably focus on addressing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Additionally, Pyongyang's support to Moscow in the war against Ukraine is also a hindrance in resumption of talks between North Korea and the United States.
(With agency inputs)
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