North Korea[/B] has launched an unidentified missile in an easterly direction, toward the sea, marking Pyongyang's first test of such a weapon system in the New Year, according to South Korea's National Defense General Staff. Japanese authorities estimated that the missile was ballistic.
The South Korean staff simply said the missile was fired toward the sea, without giving further details.
In 2021, North Korea announced that it had successfully tested[/B] a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile, a new long-range Cruise missile, a train-launched weapon, and a supersonic missile. The weapons test comes as North Korea fails to respond to a U.S. proposal to start contacts between diplomats from the two countries to resume negotiations.
During a key meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his willingness to boost the military capabilities of his country, which is under harsh sanctions by the international community. Negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington are at a standstill after the failure in 2019 of a meeting between Kim Jong Un and then US President Donald Trump in Hanoi. Since Joe Biden took office nearly a year ago, the US has repeatedly asserted that it is ready to initiate contacts anywhere and without preconditions with North Korea. But Pyongyang has so far rejected that offer.
Meanwhile, Japan's Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said today that the missile fired earlier by North Korea, believed to be a ballistic missile, traveled a distance of 500 kilometers. It landed in the sea outside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Mr. Kishi explained to reporters.
Source: CNA
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