North Korea Fires Multiple Short-Range Ballistic Missiles

The 5th Ballistic Missile Launch This Year
Conscious of New Cold War Dynamics Fueled by China-Russia Summit

North Korea fired short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on the 17th. This marks the fifth ballistic missile launch by North Korea this year, including the 600mm super-large multiple rocket launcher.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, "On this day, around 3:10 PM, North Korea launched several projectiles presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area."

North Korea provoked again just 25 days after launching the 600mm super-large multiple rocket launcher, a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), on the 22nd of last month. The military is currently analyzing detailed specifications such as the missile type and flight distance.

This ballistic missile launch by North Korea came just one day after China and Russia reaffirmed their support for North Korea at a summit. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin adopted a joint statement at the summit held in Beijing the previous day, opposing the military provocations by the United States and its allies against North Korea.

Meanwhile, North Korean state media released a series of reports condemning various South Korea-US military exercises on the same day. It was the day after the China-Russia summit. They repeatedly claimed that the South Korea-US exercises pose a threat not only to North Korea but also to neighboring countries such as China and Russia, escalating regional tensions. This appears to be an attempt to solidify the North Korea-China-Russia versus South Korea-US-Japan new Cold War framework to gain external strategic advantages.

They criticized the US weapons development while aligning even China and Russia on their side. The news agency claimed, "Under the pretext of countering some 'nuclear threat' from us, China, and Russia, the United States is actively promoting nuclear weapons modernization, including the development and production of the new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Sentinel, the new nuclear bomb B81-31, and the stealth nuclear strategic bomber B-21 radar," and "officially approved the operational use of the upgraded B61-12 tactical nuclear bomb."

On the same day, North Korea also expressed opposition through a military commentary published by the Korean Central News Agency regarding the US Air Force F-22 fighter jet 'Raptor' conducting close air combat maneuver training with South Korea Air Force's F-35A stealth fighter over the Korean Peninsula the previous day.

Both reports shift the responsibility for heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula onto South Korea and the United States, aligning with the joint statement from the China-Russia summit the day before.

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