US, South Korea respond to North Korea’s latest missile test by launching ballistic missiles

Asia-Pacific, News, US June 7, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

The United States and South Korea responded to North Korea’s latest missile tests by launching 8 ballistic missiles, only a day after North Korea tested the same amount of short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan.

In response to North Korea’s frequent ballistic missile testing this year, the U.S. and South Korea fired a volley of 8 missiles, one American and seven South Korean missiles, in the span of 10 minutes into South Korea’s eastern waters, at 4:45 a.m. local time.

South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced the details on June 6, that the surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missiles Systems (ATACMS) were test-fired at ‘various targets’.

“The South Korea-U.S. combined firing of the ground-to-ground missiles demonstrated the capability and posture to launch immediate precision strikes on the origins of provocations and their command and support forces. Our military strongly condemns the North’s series of ballistic missile provocations and seriously urges it to immediately stop acts that raise military tensions on the peninsula and add to security concerns,” he stated.

Earlier on June 5, Pyongyang test-fired short-range ballistic missiles from at least four different locations in the succession of over 35 minutes into the Sea of Japan. The military tension in the region was already high as South Korea and the U.S. had been conducting a large-scale naval exercise in the Sea of Philippines that also included the U.S. navy’s largest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.

The US also conducted a joint ballistic missile exercise with Japan, hours after North Korea’s Sunday tests, to show their “rapid response capability” and “strong determination” to counter threats, Japan’s defense ministry said.

*^{The U.S. and South Korea fired a volley of 8 missiles in the span of 10 minutes into South Korea’s eastern waters, on June 6, 2022. (Image Credit: South Korean Ministry of Defense/via NBC)}*

Earlier, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said during the country’s Memorial Day event, “will continue to build fundamental and practical security capabilities and deter the North’s nuclear and missile threats.”

Over 10 years in power, the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has orchestrated more than 100 missile launches, while frequently stating that North Korea will continue to boost its nuclear potential. The intensity and frequency of these missile tests have increased dramatically in recent times, as North Korea has conducted 18 missile tests so far this year including the launch test for its largest Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) yet. To put North Korea’s alarmingly increasing intensity of missile tests in perspective, during his 10 years tenure, Kim Jong Un’s father Kim Jon Il conducted only 16 missile tests in total.

Tension mounts in the Korean peninsula as Japan, the U.S., and South Korea scramble to prepare for action against a potential nuclear test by the North in near future. The U.S. has promised additional international sanctions if North Korea conducts UN-sanctioned nuclear tests. Kim, however, continues to pursue his pressure campaign while his country fights with mounting Covid cases within the largely unvaccinated population amid the poor public healthcare facilities.