Seoul: As tensions rise in the Korean Peninsula, South Korea and Japan reported that North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday that landed in the sea off its east coast, days after Pyongyang unveiled a uranium enrichment facility and vowed to further boost its nuclear arsenal. The missiles lifted off from Kaechon, north of the capital Pyongyang, at around 6:50 am in a northeast direction, said South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
On Thursday last week, North Korea had fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, its first launch in more than two months. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the missiles launched from North Korea's capital flying 360 km before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The reported fight distances suggest the missiles were designed to attack South Korea.
"Our military is maintaining full readiness posture while strengthening surveillance and vigilance in preparation for additional launches and closely sharing information with the US and Japan side," said South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff in a statement. The US Indo-Pacific Command said on X that it was aware of the launches and consulting closely with Seoul and Tokyo.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the secretive facility to produce weapons-grade uranium and called for stronger efforts to “exponentially” increase the number of his nuclear weapons, according to the state media on Friday (September 13). It's unclear if the site is at the North's main Yongbyon nuclear complex, but it's the North's first public disclosure of a uranium enrichment facility since it showed one at Yongbyon to visiting American scholars in 2010.
North Korea-Russia relations strengthen
The latest development may likely be an attempt to apply more pressure on the US, Ukraine and its allies, who have long accused Pyongyang of supplying rockets and missiles to Moscow for use in the war in Ukraine, in return for economic and other military assistance. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, who is visiting Russia this week to attend conferences, met her counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday and discussed ways to promote bilateral ties, according to the Russian foreign ministry.
Wednesday's missile launches also came days after the isolated country for the first time showed images of centrifuges that produce fuel for its nuclear bombs. On Monday (September 9), Kim Jong Un addressed the country's founding anniversary, where he said the country is now implementing a nuclear force construction policy to increase the number of nuclear weapons "exponentially", according to state-run media.
A strong military presence is needed to face "the various threats posed by the United States and its followers", he added. The North Korean leader also said the country is facing a "grave threat" from what it sees as a US-led nuclear-based military bloc in the region. Since 2022, North Korea has sharply ramped up weapons testing activities to expand and modernise its arsenal of nuclear missiles targeting the US and South Korea.
(with agency input)
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