Minister Seo Wook, Controversy Over Definition of North Korean Missile Provocation

Minister of National Defense Seo Wook is looking at the ceremony event of the 53rd Korea-US Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held on the afternoon of the 2nd at the parade ground of the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] On the 5th, regarding the ballistic missile launched by North Korea, Defense Minister Seo Wook stated, "If harm is done to us, it will definitely be characterized as a provocation," causing controversy. This is because it can be interpreted as meaning that North Korea's ballistic missile launch is not considered a provocation.

On the same day, during the National Assembly National Defense Committee plenary session in the afternoon, when People's Power lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung asked, "Is it difficult to define this North Korean ballistic missile launch as a provocation?" Seo replied, "The term 'provocation' is defined in the Integrated Defense Act as causing harm to our people, territory, territorial waters, or airspace."

When asked further, "Is provocation limited only to cases where missiles fly south of the NLL or into territorial waters or airspace from North Korea?" he said, "Militarily, that is how it is regarded."

This can be interpreted as meaning that the ballistic missile presumed to have been launched from Jagang Province into the East Sea by North Korea that morning is not militarily considered a 'provocation.' Regarding the criticism that it is a provocation against the international community as it violates UN Security Council resolutions, Seo stated, "It has always been treated as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, but we have our own regulations and rules."

Earlier, North Korea fired a projectile presumed to be a ballistic missile into the East Sea. The last time North Korea launched a ballistic missile was on October 19 of last year. At that time, North Korea test-fired a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from a submarine.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said, "Regarding additional information, South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies are conducting a detailed analysis," and added, "Currently, our military is maintaining a readiness posture while closely monitoring related developments in close cooperation with the U.S. in preparation for additional launches."

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