North Korea launched its first ballistic missiles in five months in what appeared to be an ominous warning to Donald Trump ahead of his visit to Asia. The US President is scheduled to visit Malaysia, Japan and South Korea in a whirlwind tour in the coming days.
He is expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit while in South Korea and could also meet with China’s President Xi JinPing to discuss a trade deal. Ahead of his visit, North Korea decided to send a not too subtle message to the US leader with a show of its military strength. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported that Pyongyang had launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles.
The rockets were fired at 8.10am local time on Wednesday from North Korea’s southern North Hwanghae Province and headed in a northeasterly direction.
They flew roughly 350 kilometres with sources indicating they probably landed somewhere in North Hamgyong Province rather than in the East Sea.
This is the first time since May this year that North Korea has launched any rockets, when it fired short-range ballistic and cruise missiles toward the East Sea on two separate occasions.
In a statement, the JCS said: “The South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials had detected signs of North Korea’s missile launch preparations in advance and had been monitoring the situation before detecting and tracking the launch immediately after it was carried out.
“The South’s military is closely monitoring the movements by the North under a resolute combined defense posture with the US while maintaining the capability and readiness to respond overwhelmingly to any provocation.”
North Korea is currently believed to have assembled 50 nuclear warheads and to have to have the fissile material for an estimated 70-90 atomic weapons, according to the website armscontrol.org Among its collection of short range ballistic missiles is the Hwasong-6, that has a range of 500 kilometres.
It is capable of carrying conventional as well as chemical, biological and nuclear warheads.
During a military parade to mark the foundation of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party earlier in October, Pyongyang showed off its latest long-range intercontinental ballistic missile – the Hwasong-20.
The terrifying missile is said to be capable of striking anywhere in the United States and designed to carry multiple nuclear warheads.
“The Hwasong-20 represents, for the moment, the apotheosis of North Korea’s ambitions for long-range nuclear delivery capabilities,” Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told Aljazeera. “We should expect to see the system tested before the end of this year.”