North Korea fired a sea-to-surface ballistic missile yesterday, the South Korean military said, hours after the United States warned that Pyongyang could resume its nuclear tests in the coming weeks.
This is the 15th test this year for the nuclear-armed country, which launched an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time since 2017 in March.
Saturday’s new test comes days before South Korean conservative Yoon Seok-yeol, a pro-North balance of power proponent, takes office on Tuesday, and it also raises escalation fears.
On Friday, the US State Department warned that Pyongyang could conduct a nuclear test “this month” based on satellite imagery. “Our military has detected a short-range ballistic missile, which is likely a submarine-launched ballistic missile, from the sea off Sinpo, South Hamgyong,” the South Korean military headquarters said in a statement.
Sinpo is an important North Korean naval base. In the past, satellite images have shown the presence of submarines in it.
Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed during a major military parade to develop his nuclear arsenal “as soon as possible,” warning of the “preemptive” strikes the new South Korean president has been talking about.
On Friday, Washington said, according to US State Department spokeswoman Galina Porter, that Pyongyang is “preparing the Pungeri test site and may be ready to conduct a test there this month, which will be its seventh nuclear test.”
