DPRK launches 'unidentified ballistic missile': Seoul

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Jul 2023 07:48

Japanese and South Korean militaries claim the DRPK launched a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan

A TV screen showing a news program reporting about North Korea's missile launch with file footage, is seen at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 4, 2022. (AP)

The DPRK has fired a ballistic missile, Seoul's military said Wednesday, two days after US spy planes violated its airspace.

"North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile into the East Sea," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, in reference to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

The military has not yet released specific details about the launch, as an official analysis is still ongoing. However, initial reports from defense insiders suggest that the missile flew for approximately 74 minutes, reaching an altitude of 6,000 kilometers and covering a range of 1,000 kilometers.

In response to the launch, Japanese officials have issued a statement instructing aircraft and ships to avoid any potential debris and to inform the Japan Coast Guard of any findings.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno has condemned the launch, describing it as "unacceptable", and calling it a threat to the peace and security of Japan, the region, and the international community.

Matsuno claimed that such ballistic missile launches violate relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and stated that a strong protest has been lodged through the Japanese embassy in Beijing.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is attending NATO's Vilnius summit, has called for an emergency national security meeting in response to the launch.

On July 10, the DPRK accused the United States of repeatedly violating its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with a military spy plane. The deputy head of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Kim Yo Jong, stated that the US plane entered the DPRK's EEZ eight times in a single day.

The intrusions reportedly occurred off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, specifically near Thongchon in Kangwon Province and Uljin in North Gyeongsang Province. Kim Yo Jong stated that the DPRK would not respond directly to US reconnaissance activities outside its EEZ, but warned of "decisive action" if the US military crosses its maritime military demarcation line.

It is worth noting that Washington has been deploying reconnaissance planes and drones that violate the DPRK's airspace, while Pyongyang has exercised restraint by not targeting the aircraft.