North Korea executes 4th short-range missile launch
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The launch is the fourth weapons test for January.
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People in Seoul, South Korea watch a report about the missile launch in North Korea (AP)
According to South Korea's military, North Korea launched two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday, making it the fourth launch amid stalled dialogue with the US and Covid-related border restrictions.
According to a statement by the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, the missiles were launched four minutes apart, most likely launched from a region near Suhan, which is home to Pyongyang's international airport. The statement added that they traveled approximately 380 kilometers at a height of 42 kilometers and landed in the country's northeast waters.
The US Indo-Pacific Command claimed the missiles did not represent an imminent threat to US soldiers or territory, or to its allies, but alleged it underscores the North's "illicit" weapons program's destabilizing influence.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is visiting the UAE, has directed authorities to make "utmost efforts to ensure stability" on the Korean Peninsula, according to his office. It further stated that members of the presidential National Security Council emphasized the importance of resuming nuclear dialogue with Pyongyang.
According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea allegedly fired one ballistic missile from the country's interior toward the Sea of Japan on January 5.
A previous test occurred on October 19, 2021, when North Korea conducted a submarine ballistic missile test.
In September, North Korea conducted the first hypersonic missile test, joining a race led by major military powers, chiefly among them the US, to deploy the advanced weapons system.
South Korea's military said on January 11 that North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile into the sea, less than a week after Pyongyang reported testing a hypersonic missile.
A day after Pyongyang launched a hypersonic missile, the United States imposed sanctions on five North Koreans allegedly linked to the “country's ballistic missile program.”
The Treasury Department accused the five North Koreans of being "responsible for procuring goods for the DPRK's (North Korea's) weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile-related programs."
A stronger and certain reaction
In a statement, North Korea threatened a “stronger and certain reaction” if the United States imposed more sanctions on the country, according to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency.
“If the United States continues to take a confrontational stance, North Korea will be forced to take stronger and more specific retaliatory measures,” the statement added.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry has also condemned the United States' proposal to the United Nations Security Council to impose new sanctions on North Korea in response to its six ballistic and other missile tests since September 2021.
