(Comprehensive) North Korea Fires Two Short-Range Ballistic Missiles

On the 18th, Two Days After the ICBM Hwasong-15 Launch
Kim Yo-jong: "We Will Continue Taking Measures Targeting the United States"

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on the 20th. This comes just two days after the launch of the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on the 18th.

On the day, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced, "From around 7:00 AM to 7:11 AM, two short-range ballistic missiles were launched from the Sukchon area in South Pyongan Province towards the East Sea."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

North Korea's launch of short-range ballistic missiles appears to be a response to the joint South Korea-U.S. flight exercises conducted the previous day. In response to North Korea's ICBM provocation, South Korea and the U.S. conducted joint flight training, where South Korean Air Force F-35A and F-15K fighters and U.S. Air Force F-16s escorted a U.S. B-1B strategic bomber entering the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ).

North Korea also warned of further provocations. Immediately after the ballistic missile launch on the day, Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the Workers' Party, issued a statement targeting the United States, indicating that measures would continue to be taken.

Deputy Director Kim said, "The frequency with which we use the Pacific as our firing range depends on the nature of the U.S. military's actions," adding, "We are carefully considering the impact on our national security, and if we judge there to be any direct or indirect concerns, we will take corresponding measures. We want to reaffirm this as a settled fact on this occasion."

Deputy Director Kim was particularly incensed by South Korean experts' remarks that the recent ICBM provocation took over nine hours from the 'order issuance' to the 'launch.'

According to the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea launched the missile on the 18th at around 5:22 PM, following an order issued at 8:00 AM by the Chairman of the Party Central Military Commission. South Korean experts claimed to the media that this suggested the technical level of North Korea's ICBM might be such that it takes 9 hours and 22 minutes from order issuance to missile launch.

In response, Deputy Director Kim said, "Watching throughout yesterday, the speculations, unfounded assumptions, and various evaluations were truly a spectacle," emphasizing, "The concept of a surprise launch does not refer to the time taken from the order issuance to the launch." She continued, "Our soldiers selected the most accurate time indicated in the order, considering weather conditions, visibility distance, and the time between 3:30 PM and 7:45 PM when all seven enemy reconnaissance aircraft involved in aerial reconnaissance had landed, to carry out important military actions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.