[Weekly Photo] North Korea Missile Provocation... Crisis on the Korean Peninsula

The Return of the Reagan, South Korea-US Response to North Korean Provocations

On the 4th, the South Korean and U.S. military authorities deployed F-15K and F-16 fighter jets to conduct strike formation flights and precision bombing training in response to North Korea's launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM). The photo shows an F-15K participating in the training dropping a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). Photo by Yonhap

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are escalating as North Korea continues its missile shows of force daily, using the joint South Korea-U.S.-Japan military exercises as a pretext.

On the 4th, North Korea launched what is believed to be a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) eastward from the Mupyong-ri area in Jagang Province, followed by another ballistic missile launch two days later on the 6th.

Due to North Korea's missile provocations, the U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan (CVN-76, 103,000 tons), which was returning after the joint South Korea-U.S.-Japan exercises, unusually turned back to the East Sea. Alongside the South Korean Navy, ballistic missile defense drills were extended, further heightening tensions.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that the South Korea-U.S. combined naval maneuver exercises to strengthen joint defense capabilities will continue for two days, on the 7th and 8th, in international waters of the East Sea.

We have captured the intense tension of the first week of October on the Korean Peninsula in photos.

North Korea launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile into the Pacific from the Mupyeong-ri area in Jagang Province on the 4th, and fired another ballistic missile two days later. The North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the same day, "We are closely monitoring the United States' redeployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the waters around the Korean Peninsula, which poses a serious threat to the stability of the Korean Peninsula and surrounding areas," revealing that this launch was a response to the redeployment of the US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan. The photo shows citizens watching a broadcast related to North Korea's missile launch in the waiting room of Seoul Station on the 6th. Photo by Yonhap.

On the 4th, when North Korea launched an Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM), a U-2S high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was flying over the area near Osan Air Base of the US Forces Korea in Pyeongtaek City, Gyeonggi Province. /

A citizen in Tokyo, Japan is watching a news broadcast screen about North Korea's ballistic missile launch. [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

The South Korean and U.S. military authorities announced that they conducted a joint surface-to-surface missile firing into the East Sea in response to North Korea's intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) provocation, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The photo shows the joint surface-to-surface missile firing.

North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japanese airspace, and Motohide Yoshikawa, Japan's Ambassador to the United Nations, and Junkoo Hwang, South Korea's Ambassador to the United Nations, are listening to a speech by Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, after a United Nations Security Council meeting. /

In response to North Korea's launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that crossed over the Japanese archipelago on the 4th, the South Korean and U.S. military authorities deployed F-15K and F-16 fighter jets to conduct strike formation flights within 10 hours of the provocation. During the training, they also carried out precision bombing by dropping Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) as a warning message to North Korea. /

The North Korean flag is fluttering at the cultural center in Gijeong-dong village, as seen from the Third Guard Post in Panmunjom, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do.

North Korean soldiers are observing the South from the window of Panmungak on the North side of Panmunjom, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do. /

The US Navy attack submarine Annapolis and the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, along with the South Korean, US, and Japanese navies, are conducting joint exercises in the East Sea. /

The U.S. Navy attack submarine Annapolis and the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan are conducting joint naval exercises with South Korea and Japan in the East Sea. /

The U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan arrives in Busan and is being escorted.

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