North Korea ends the year with three ballistic missiles launch

Asia-Pacific, News January 1, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

North Korea ends the year 2022 with the launch of three short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea to the east of the Korean peninsula on December 31, the South Korean military announced.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement that North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles from its North Hwanghae Province at around 08:00 local time (23:00 GMT).

Japan’s Defense Ministry also released a statement highlighting that three North Korean ballistic missiles with a maximum altitude of about 100 kilometers (62 miles) and a flight distance of roughly 350 kilometers (217 miles) had fallen into waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

South Korean JCS condemned the North’s missile tests by declaring it a clear violation of the United Nations Security Council resolution and urged it to stop immediately. According to a South Korean military statement, “North Korea’s ballistic missile(s) launch is a grave provocation that undermines peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as well as the international community.”

The United States however toned down the threat posed by North Korea as U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said that the latest missile tests do not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, its territory, or regional allies.

Last week, North Korea also fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea from its eastern coast in response to the U.S.-South Korea military drills, which Pyongyang views as a rehearsal for an invasion.

South Korea’s JCS said in a statement last week that the country’s “military maintains a full readiness posture while closely cooperating with the US while strengthening surveillance and vigilance,” as North Korea ramps up its missile tests.

^{North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a nighttime military parade to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Image Credit: Korean Central News Agency)}

Despite heavy sanctions on its military and weapons development programs, North Korea conducted a barrage of missile tests in recent months, including a launch test for its most advanced and largest Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM).

In 2022, North Korea fired about 100 cruise and ballistic missiles, demonstrating its range of missiles and weapons development as experts warn that the isolated country is on its way to conducting its seventh nuclear test.

Separately on December 28, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol approved a $440 million plan to improve its military’s capability to counter drones. The announcement came from the ministry of defense, two days after five North Korean drones breached into South Korean border, which led to an accident and destruction of a South Korean KA-1 light attack aircraft.

South Korean military scrambled its jets and helicopter after five North Korean drones crossed the border to enter South’s aerial territories. However, despite firing at least 100 rounds, the South Korean military failed to shoot down the drones through anti-aircraft guns.

Under the newly approved budget, South Korea plans to spend $261 billion on its defense until 2027. The country plans to gradually increase its defense budget at an annual rate of 6.8 percent.