North Korea launched several cruise missiles into the western waters on Saturday following an earlier threat to use nuclear arms over the arrival of a US nuclear-capable submarine in South Korea. South Korea detected several launches from around 4 a.m. and is working with the United States to analyze the specifications of the missiles, its Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message.
The cruise missiles flew about 550 kilometers (341 miles), or about the distance between Pyongyang and the South Korean port city of Busan, where the submarine, the USS Kentucky, docked on Tuesday. It was the first visit by a US nuclear-armed sub to South Korea since the 1980s.
Analysts say the North ramped up its missile testing in response to ongoing US-South Korea military drills that it sees as a rehearsal for invasion. It also recently passed a new law that makes its status as a nuclear-armed state “irreversible.”
The US has vowed to use diplomatic and military means to resolve the standoff. On Friday, the Washington Post reported that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis called for talks to be re-opened with the North to discuss nuclear and ballistic missile issues. But the North has made no sign of resuming negotiations, and it said earlier this week that any attempt to hold discussions would be a “foolish move.”
Pyongyang’s latest launch appears to be an effort to show off its capability to strike military bases in the South and Japan. Japan’s deputy defense minister, Toshiro Ino, said the missiles landed at sea outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. He said they appeared to have been launched on a lofty trajectory and may have performed irregular maneuvers in flight, which could suggest they were designed to evade missile defense systems.
In a statement, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea and the United States condemned the launches as a significant provocation threatening peace and stability on the peninsula and in the region. The statement said they agreed to strengthen coordination to deliver a firm international response to the North’s action.
The launching of the cruise missiles is “a clear violation” of UN Security Council resolutions, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The JCS added that the missiles were fired from an area near the capital, Pyongyang, and reached waters east of the peninsula.
The cruise missiles are likely designed to carry nuclear warheads but cannot travel as far as the longer-range ballistic missiles that the North has tested recently. Unlike ballistic missiles propelled by a rocket engine and fly farther away from the ground, cruise missiles are guided by jet engines and stay close to the ground, making them easier for defense systems to detect and intercept. The US and South Korea have been conducting joint military drills this week, which the North says are rehearsals for an invasion of the peninsula. The drills began last Monday and are scheduled to end Thursday.
