North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile into the sea as the Asian nation criticized the United States for supposedly destabilizing the region.
South Korea said that its northern counterpart launched the projectile on Sunday from its east coast near the capital of Pyongyang. It added that the missile allegedly flew 354 miles before landing in the sea.
North Korea Launches Suspected Ballistic Missile
On the other hand, the Japanese Coast Guard said that the suspected ballistic missile had fallen less than 20 minutes after its launch. South Korea criticized the launch as a "clear violation" of United Nations Security Council resolutions that have banned the North from using ballistic technologies.
Shortly after the launch, North Korea's Defense Ministry issued a statement that did not mention the ballistic missile itself. Instead, it criticized the U.S. for what it called a "reckless military threat" that was destabilizing the region.
The remarks were a reference to the U.S. deployment of military assets, including strategic bombers and nuclear-powered submarines to South Korea. A ministry spokesman said that the armed forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will thoroughly neutralize the U.S. and its vassal forces in an attempt to "ignite a nuclear war," as per Fox News.
Furthermore, Pyongyang condemned Washington's and Seoul's move to include nuclear operation scenarios in their joint drills. North Korean authorities described it as an open threat to potentially use nuclear weapons against the North and vowed to prepare unspecified "offensive countermeasures."
A few hours before North Korea launched the suspected ballistic missile, the U.S. and South Korea issued a joint statement. It warned Pyongyang that any form of nuclear attack against the nation or its allies "is unacceptable and will result in the end of the (Kim Jong) Un regime.
The statement added that the U.S. side reiterated that any nuclear attack conducted by Pyongyang against the Republic of Korea (ROK) would be met with a "swift, overwhelming, and decisive response."
Destabilizing the Region
The South Korean military added that it maintains readiness while exchanging information regarding the launch with U.S. and Japanese authorities. Following North Korea's launch, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that he did not immediately receive any report of injuries or damages, according to Yahoo News.
Kishida added that he was planning to hold a National Security Council meeting to discuss North Korea's test launch. The launch also came a few hours after South Korea reported its northern counterpart conducted a short-range ballistic missile test into the sea on Sunday.
Tensions between the two Koreas have deepened following the North's launch of its first military reconnaissance satellite into space on Nov. 21, which was in violation of UN bans. Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. have strongly condemned the launch and viewed it as North Korea's attempt to improve its missile technology and establish a space-based surveillance system.
In a statement, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said that while North Korea's launch did not pose a threat to U.S. territory or Washington's allies, it highlights "the destabilizing impact of the DPRK's illicit weapons program," said Channel News Asia.
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