North Korea is at it again.
Pyongyang fired off several short-range ballistic missiles on Monday, March 18, Knewz.com has learned.
According to The Associated Press, the tests came as United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in South Korea for a democracy summit.
The launches — North Korea’s first in approximately a month — landed between the Korean peninsula and Japan, but no damage nor injuries were reported, according to Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
“North Korea’s series of actions threaten the peace and security of our region and the international community, and are absolutely unacceptable,” Kishida said, calling the launch a violation of United Nations resolutions.
According to Reuters, South Korea military condemned the launches, calling them a “clear provocation.” The U.S. also condemned the tests, stating that they violated multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Shin Won-sik, South Korea’s defense minister, said it was unclear if the missile tests were for North Korea’s use or if they were going to be sent to Russia.
“It is unclear whether the missiles are for frontline reinforcement or exports to Russia,” he said at a news conference. “But there is a significant possibility that they were making final performance checks before exporting them to Russia.”
The latest launches follow the conclusion of wargames by the U.S. and South Korea last week.
Blinken is one of several senior officials from around the world attending the Summit for Democracy conference in Seoul. He also plans to meet with his South Korean counterpart, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul.
The aim of the summit is to discuss ways to stop democratic decreases and to promote freedom around the world.
While North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took a break from missile launches, he’s still been attempting to put on a show of force.
As Knewz.com reported on March 14, Kim paraded around in a tank that he deemed “the world’s most powerful” along with troops during the country’s latest military exercises on Wednesday, March 13.
It was the third time Kim joined his forces during military drills in response to the joint operations by South Korea and the U.S.
The Daily Mail, citing the Korean Central News Agency, reports that Kim wore a black leather jacket during the drills while telling his troops to bolster their “fighting spirits” and finish “preparations for war.”
Kim drove the tank, which was first introduced in 2020 but appears ready to be deployed, as a show of force against South Korea and the U.S., whose military drills are seen by North Korea as dress rehearsals for an invasion.
North Korea’s exercises were designed to test the combat capabilities of the tank crews, and Kim expressed “great satisfaction” with the results.
“Swiftly weaving their way through various worst combat circumstances, heavy tanks hit targets at once with powerful strikes and broke through strong defense lines with high maneuverability,” the Korean Central News Agency’s (KCNA) report said, according to Reuters.
Photos on KCNA show Kim’s face appearing from the top of the tank’s hatch and the leader walking among troops and senior officials on the mock battlefield.
The exercises were meant to simulate “actual combat capabilities and make them get familiar with combat action methods on different tactical missions,” according to KCNA.
“Swiftly weaving their way through various worst combat circumstances, heavy tanks hit targets at once with powerful strikes and broke through strong defense lines with high maneuverability,” the KCNA report added.
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Author: David Wetzel
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