Current:Home > ScamsNorth Korea resumes missile tests days after U.S., South Korea conclude military drills -Thrive Success Strategies
North Korea resumes missile tests days after U.S., South Korea conclude military drills
View
Date:2025-04-13 17:00:48
North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters Monday morning, its neighbors said, days after the end of the South Korean-U.S. military drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal.
The launches were North Korea's first known missile testing activities in about a month. Outside experts earlier predicted North Korea would extend its run of missile tests and intensify its warlike rhetoric ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November to boost its leverage in future diplomacy.
Japan's Defense Ministry said North Korea fired three missiles, two together at 7:44 a.m. and the other about 37 minutes later. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a parliamentary session that the North Korean missiles landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, all outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone, and that no damage or injuries have been reported.
Kishida denounced North Korea's repeated ballistic missile tests as acts "that threaten the peace and safety of Japan, the region and the international society." He said Japan strongly protested against North Korea over its testing activities, saying they violated U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban the North from engaging in any ballistic activities.
South Korea's military said it also detected "several" suspected short-range ballistic launches by North Korea on Monday morning. The Joint Chiefs of Staff called the launches "clear provocation" that threaten peace on the Korean Peninsula. It said South Korea will maintain readiness to repel any provocation by North Korea, based on its solid military alliance with the United States.
According to Japan and South Korean assessments, the North Korean missiles fired from its capital region traveled a distance of 300-350 kilometers (about 185-220 miles) at the maximum speed of 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) per hour.
The U.S. State Department condemned the launches, saying they pose a threat to the North's neighbors and undermine regional security. A State Department statement said the U.S. commitment to the defense of South Korea and Japan remains "ironclad."
The U.S. stations a total of 80,000 troops in South Korea and Japan, the backbone of its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
During the South Korea-U.S. military drills that ended Thursday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided a series of military training exercises involving tanks, artillery guns and paratroopers and called for greater war fighting capabilities. The 11-day South Korean-U.S. drills involved a computer-simulated command post training and 48 kinds of field exercises, twice the number conducted last year.
The North didn't perform any missile tests during its rivals' training, however. Its missile tests are considered much bigger provocations as North Korea has been pushing hard to mount nuclear warheads on its missiles targeting the U.S. mainland and its allies. Many experts say North Korea already has nuclear-armed missiles capable of reaching all of South Korea and Japan, but it has yet to have functioning long-range missiles that can strike the U.S. mainland.
Before Monday's launches, North Korea last carried out missile tests in mid-February by firing cruise missiles into the sea.
Animosities on the Korean Peninsula remain high in the wake of North Korea's barrage of missile tests since 2022. Many of the tests involved nuclear-capable missiles designed to attack South Korea and the mainland U.S. The U.S. and South Korean forces have responded by expanding their training exercises and trilateral drills involving Japan.
Experts say North Korea likely believes a bigger weapons arsenal would increase its leverage in future diplomacy with the United States. They say North Korea would want to win extensive sanctions relief while maintaining its nuclear weapons.
Worries about North Korean military moves have deepened since Kim vowed in a speech in January to rewrite the constitution to eliminate the country's long-standing goal of seeking peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula and to cement South Korea as its "invariable principal enemy." He said the new charter must specify North Korea would annex and subjugate the South if another war broke out.
Observers say North Korea may launch limited provocations along its tense border with South Korea. But they say the prospects for a full-scale attack by North Korea are dim as it would know its military is outmatched by the U.S. and South Korean forces.
- In:
- Fumio Kishida
- South Korea
- Politics
- North Korea
veryGood! (26)
Related
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- Alec Baldwin had no control of his own emotions on Rust set where cinematographer was fatally shot, prosecutor says
- What should I do with my solar eclipse glasses? What to know about recycling, donating
- Under $200 Spring Wedding Dresses That Will Make You The Best-Dressed Guest
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Idaho teen faces federal terrorism charge. Prosecutors say he planned to attack a church for ISIS
- Kourtney Kardashian Defends Her Postpartum Body Amid Pressure to Bounce Back
- Prosecutors say evidence was suppressed in case of Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- Georgia prosecutor promises charges against driver who ran over 4-year-old girl after police decline
Ranking
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- Brazil Supreme Court investigating Elon Musk over obstruction, disinformation on X
- Person comes forward to claim $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot in Oregon
- Rescue owner sentenced in 'terrible' animal cruelty case involving dead dogs in freezers
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- More than 200 women and several men accuse doctor in lawsuit of sexual abuse, unnecessary exams
- Experts warn not to look at solar eclipse with your phone camera — but share tricks for safely taking pictures
- What should I do with my solar eclipse glasses? What to know about recycling, donating
Recommendation
DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
Woman claiming God told her to go on shooting spree because of solar eclipse shoots drivers on Florida interstate, police say
Taylor Swift, Khloe Kardashian, Bonnie Tyler and More Stars React to 2024 Solar Eclipse
When does Tiger Woods tee off? Masters tee times for Thursday's opening round
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
NAIA, governing small colleges, bars transgender athletes from women's sports competitions
Contractor killed by aircraft propeller lost situational awareness when she was fatally struck, Air Force says
Explosive device thrown onto porch of Satanic Temple in Massachusetts, no injuries reported