North Korea fires two missiles as U.S. condemns flurry of tests
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[January 27, 2022]
By Josh Smith
SEOUL (Reuters) -Nuclear-armed North Korea
fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles on
Thursday, drawing condemnation from the United States for what would be
the sixth round of missile tests this month.
The series of tests is among the most missiles ever launched by North
Korea in a month, analysts said, as it begins 2022 with a dizzying
display of new and operational weapons.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had detected the launch of
what it presumed were two ballistic missiles at about 8 a.m. (2300 GMT)
from near Hamhung, on the east coast of North Korea. They travelled for
about 190 km to an altitude of 20 km, JCS added.
North Korea said this month it would bolster its defences against the
United States and consider resuming "all temporally-suspended
activities", an apparent reference to a self-imposed moratorium on tests
of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
The launch came after North Korea fired two cruise missiles into the sea
off its east coast on Tuesday, adding to the tension over its tests.
Earlier in the month, North Korea tested tactical guided missiles, two
"hypersonic missiles" capable of high speed and manoeuvring after
lift-off, and a railway-borne missile system.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/27/images/ads/current/farmersbank_lda_LUAL_2021.png)
"The (Kim Jong Un) regime is developing an impressive diversity of
offensive weapons despite limited resources and serious economic
challenges," said Leif-Eric Easley, an international affairs professor
at Ewha University in Seoul.
Certain tests aim to develop new capabilities, especially for evading
missile defences, while other launches are intended to demonstrate the
readiness and versatility of missile forces that North Korea has already
deployed, he said.
"Some observers have suggested that the Kim regime’s frequent launches
are a cry for attention, but Pyongyang is running hard in what it
perceives as an arms race with Seoul," Easley said.
In a speech to the U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament on Tuesday,
North Korea's Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Han Tae Song,
accused the United States of staging hundreds of "joint war drills"
while shipping high-tech offensive military equipment into South Korea
and nuclear strategic weapons into the region.
"(This) is seriously threatening the security of our state," Han said.
'REMARKABLE'
A U.S. State Department spokesperson condemned the launches as a
violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and a threat to
North Korea's neighbours and the international community.
The United States remains committed to a diplomatic approach and calls
on North Korea to engage in dialogue, the spokesperson said.
As with other recent tests, the U.S. military's Indo-Pacific Command
said that the launch was destabilising but did not pose an immediate
threat to U.S. territory or personnel, or to its allies.
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A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of
North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File
Picture
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/27/images/ads/current/werth_lda_LUAL_2021.png) South Korean and U.S. nuclear envoys
had a phone call during which they shared "deep concerns" over the
latest test and agreed to continue cooperation to prevent further
escalation, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
North Korea's recent "remarkable development" in
nuclear and missile technology could not be overlooked, Japan's
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a briefing.
South Korea's National Security Council convened an emergency
meeting, at which it said the launches were "very regrettable" and
went against calls for peace and stability in the region, the
presidential Blue House said in a statement.
At a media briefing in Bejing, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao
Lijian said China urged all parties to "speak and act with caution,
stick to the right direction of dialogue and consultation, and
jointly promote the political resolution of the Korean Peninsula
issue."
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration sanctioned several North
Korean and Russian individuals and entities this month on
accusations they were helping North Korea's weapons programmes, but
China and Russia delayed a U.S. bid to impose U.N. sanctions on five
North Koreans.
On Wednesday, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Japan and
Korea Mark Lambert said that Washington had "no reservations" about
talking with North Korea and was willing to meet anywhere and talk
about anything.
"We have to have a serious discussion about the denuclearisation of
North Korea, and if North Korea is willing to do that, all sorts of
promising things can happen," he said during an online seminar
hosted by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and
International Studies.
North Korea has defended its missile tests as a sovereign right of
self-defence and said U.S. sanctions proved that even as the United
States proposes talks, it maintained a "hostile" policy.
"The recent test-firing of new types of weapons was part of
activities for carrying out a medium- and long-term plan for
development of national science," the North Korean U.N. envoy Han
said in a speech on Tuesday.
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"It does not pose any threat or damage to the security of
neighbouring countries and the region."
North Korea has not launched long-range intercontinental ballistic
missiles (ICBMs) or tested nuclear weapons since 2017 but began
testing a slew of shorter-range missiles after denuclearisation
talks stalled following a failed summit with the United States in
2019.
(Reporting by Josh Smith; Additional reporting by Chang-Ran Kim and
Satoshi Sugiyama in Tokyo, Stephanie Ulmer-Nebehay in Geneva, Dan
Whitcomb in Los Angeles and Hyonhee Shin in Seoul; Editing by Chris
Reese, Richard Pullin, Michael Perry, Gerry Doyle & Simon
Cameron-Moore)
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