The South Korean military announced yesterday that North Korea had fired a short-range ballistic missile, the latest in an unprecedented wave of missile launches as Pyongyang warned of a “more aggressive” military response to the US and its regional allies.
Washington is seeking to strengthen regional security cooperation and intensify joint military exercises in response to increasing provocations from the nuclear-armed North Korea, which sees all such moves as evidence of American aggression.
US President Joe Biden discussed the recent North Korean missile test with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping earlier this week and spoke to leaders in Tokyo and Seoul as fears grow that the isolated regime could carry out its seventh nuclear test.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choi Song-hui said in a statement yesterday that Washington’s actions to bolster its “extended deterrence” and conduct joint exercises with regional security allies were “foolish actions.”
Experts note that Thursday’s missile launch was timed to coincide with a statement by North Korea’s foreign minister.
“This is an attempt to send a message to the United States and Japan,” Cheong Seongchan, a researcher at the Sejong Institute, told AFP.
