North Korea said it has successfully tested a new antiaircraft missile, state media reported, as Pyongyang begins a long-term weapons strategy aimed at countering military threats from Washington and Seoul.
Kim Jong Un was not reported to be involved in Thursday’s launch, North Korea’s fourth weapons test in recent weeks. But a day earlier, Mr Kim, in a policy speech to his rubber-stamp legislature, praised the country’s weapons scientists for developing “super-modern weapons” at an “extremely fast pace”.
Pyongyang’s state media said the test was of “very practical importance” to North Korea’s anti-aircraft missile systems, demonstrating guidance accuracy and the ability to shoot down air targets from afar.
Ankit Panda, a senior fellow in the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment, said the launcher of the surface-to-air missile was displayed at a North Korean military parade about a year ago, based on photographs published by state media. for international peace.
“This test now serves as a reminder that North Korea’s military modernization ambitions go far beyond just nuclear-capable systems,” Mr. Panda said.
On Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said North Korea’s recent launches represent repeated violations of UN Security Council resolutions and need to be taken seriously by the international community. The launches create “more potential for volatility and insecurity”, Mr Blinken said.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in did not comment directly about North Korea’s weapons launch in a speech commemorating the country’s Armed Forces Day. But he said at Friday’s event that the Seoul government and military would “strongly respond to any act endangering the lives and safety of the people.”
North Korea has shown little interest in returning to nuclear disarmament talks with the US, ignoring the reach of the Biden administration. In his recent policy speech, Mr Kim said the US threat against his country remained “completely unchanged” under President Biden.
Pyongyang banned weapons testing throughout the summer. But over the past several weeks, the Kim regime has launched long-range cruise missiles, a train-launched warhead and a hypersonic missile. In January, Mr. Kim outlined a new five-year strategic weapons plan.
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