“Using Pacific As Firing Range Depends On…”: Kim Jong Un’s Warning To US

Seoul:

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Monday, Seoul said, Pyongyang’s second launch in 48 hours as Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister warned of turning the Pacific into a “firing range”.

South Korea’s military said they “detected the launch of two short-range ballistic missiles fired from Sukhon areas of South Pyongan province between 0700-0711 (2200-2211 GMT).”

Tokyo also confirmed the launch, with the Prime Minister’s Office warning the North had launched “a suspected ballistic missile” and the coastguard issuing an alert on several projectiles.

North Korea issued a statement soon after saying that it “fired two shots using 600 mm multiple rocket launchers” into the East Sea, the body of water also known as the Sea of ​​Japan.

Pyongyang launched what it called a “stunning” drill on Saturday to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile, less than 48 hours after it said it demonstrated North Korea’s ability to launch a “deadly nuclear retaliatory strike.”

Japan said on Saturday the ICBM flew for 66 minutes and landed in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In response, Seoul and Washington held joint air exercises on Sunday, involving strategic bombers and stealth fighter jets.

In a statement released early Monday, North Korean leader Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong warned that Pyongyang would continue to take “the corresponding response” to any perceived threats.

“The frequency of using the Pacific as our firing range depends on the action character of US forces,” she said in a statement carried by the official KCNA, which also strongly criticized external assessments of Saturday’s ICBM launch.

North Korea gave its troops an “excellent mark” for conducting a “surprise launching drill” on Saturday, but South Korean analysts pointed out that the estimated nine hours between placing the order and launching was not particularly fast.

Kim Yo Jong dismissed such criticism as “a bid to undermine the preparedness of the DPRK missile forces”, referring to the North by its official name, she said.

angry reaction

Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification told AFP the angry reaction was part of a “pattern” of North Korea pushing back against any outside assessment of their ICBM capabilities.

“Kim’s strong reaction to external assessments of his ICBM launch shows that the North really cares about sending the message that it is capable of striking the US mainland,” he said.

He said Monday’s launch was North Korea’s “response to joint Korea-US air drills over the weekend”.

Using short-range missiles indicated that North Korea was “virtually targeting US bases and South Korean command centers in the area”.

The North Korea sanctions bust came as Seoul and Washington began joint tabletop exercises this weekend aimed at improving their response in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack.

Pyongyang last week warned of an “unprecedented” strong response to the upcoming exercises, which it describes as preparation for war and blames the worsening security situation on the Korean peninsula.

Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years after North Korea declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state and leader Kim called for an “exponential” increase in weapons production, including tactical nuclear weapons.

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