Last year, North Korea launched an unprecedented number of missiles.
Today, February 18, North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast, after Pyongyang warned of a strong response for the upcoming military exercises of the USA and South Korea. This is reported by Reuters.
Japanese authorities said the missile fell in the waters of Japan's exclusive economic zone more than an hour after launch. This indicates that it was one of North Korea's largest missiles.
Last year, North Korea launched an unprecedented number of missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which can strike anywhere. USA. North Korea also resumed preparations for its first nuclear test since 2017.
The new launch of a long-range missile was carried out from the Sunan area near Pyongyang, the South Korean military said. Sunan is home to Pyongyang International Airport, where North Korea has conducted most of its recent ICBM tests.
North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs are banned by UN Security Council resolutions, but Pyongyang says the weapons development is necessary for countermeasures. the “hostile policy” of Washington and its allies.
Next week, the Pentagon is planning a joint nuclear exercise called the Deterrence Strategy Committee Staff Exercise, which will be attended by high-ranking representatives of US and South Korean defense policy. The two countries also plan to conduct a series of extensive field exercises, including live fire, in the coming weeks and months.
About 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended truce rather than a full peace treaty, leaving the parties technically at war.
Pyongyang may have created a military unit, which is tasked with the operation of new ICBMs, in accordance with the recent restructuring of the armed forces, as evidenced by state media footage of the parade held on February 9. The parade featured more ICBMs than ever before, including possible new solid-propellant weapons that could help North Korea deploy its missiles more quickly in the event of war.
Also read: South Korea, US conduct drills with countering drones amid threats from North Korean UAVs
Earlier it was reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un unveiled the country's new military goals for 2023 at a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party,hinting at another year of intense weapons testing and escalating tensions.
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North Korea regularly carries out nuclear provocations, launching missiles towards Japan and South Korea. This raises tensions in the region and forces the neighbors, who conduct joint military exercises with the United States, to react.
