North Korea Launches Ballistic Missiles into the East Sea

If It Is an ICBM Launch, Provocation After 5 Months Since Last July
Intentions Including ROK-US NCG Meeting and 12th Anniversary of Chairman Kim Jong-il's Death

On the 17th, the 12th anniversary of Kim Jong-il's death, North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the East Sea. This is the first ballistic missile launch by North Korea in 26 days since the 22nd of last month.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 18th, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced, "North Korea launched an unidentified ballistic missile into the East Sea." The military is analyzing the missile's flight distance, altitude, speed, and other specifications.

The military has been closely monitoring the possibility of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) provocations recently. Earlier, Kim Tae-hyo, the First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, said to reporters upon arriving in the United States on the 14th of this month (local time) to attend the 2nd Korea-US Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting, "I believe there is a possibility of North Korea launching an ICBM in December."

If the projectile is confirmed to be an ICBM, it would mark the first ICBM provocation in over five months. North Korea's most recent ICBM test launch was on July 12, when it claimed to have launched the Hwasong-18, a "new solid-fuel ICBM." This provocation appears to be intended to criticize the decisions made at the 2nd Korea-US NCG meeting. At this meeting, both South Korea and the United States agreed to conduct nuclear operation exercises during the joint Korea-US exercise "Ulchi Freedom Shield" (UFS) scheduled for August next year, in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

Notably, the provocation occurred on the same day as the 12th anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-un's father, Kim Jong-il, Chairman of the National Defense Commission, which is interpreted as an attempt to demonstrate military strength domestically and foster unity among the people. On the morning of the same day, the Rodong Sinmun published an article praising Kim Jong-il's achievements in strengthening national defense, stating that Kim Jong-il possessed the "iron will that one can live without candy but cannot live without bullets," and that during his rule, "the historic national achievement of nuclear possession was accomplished."

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