North Korea test-fired two SCUD missiles and a Rodong medium-range missile on Tuesday, in further defiance of the global community and in apparent reaction to the planned deployment of a United States defense system in South Korea. Han noted that Seoul is developing its own missile defense program – Kill Chain and the Korea Air and Missile Defense system – so there is no need for Seoul to join the USA system.
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North Korea says its recent ballistic missile launches tested nuclear detonators which could be used in pre-emptive strikes against the South.
The first two missiles fired were short-range Scud variants, and the third was a medium-range Nodong, it was the 25th missile test conducted by North Korea this year. Residents pelted the South Korean prime minister with eggs when he visited last week to try to alleviate their concerns that they would become a target for North Korea.
The U.S. and South Korea this month finalized the details for deploying a terminal high-altitude area defense (THAAD), battery to South Korea that would be operated by U.S. forces stationed there.
The THAAD base in Guam is located some 3 kilometers away from the nearest residential area, while the THAAD base in Seongju will be 1.5 kilometers from the nearest village.
KCNA also reported that the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “provided field guidance to the drill” that took place in Hwangju in the country’s North Hwanghae province.
Lee Chun-geun, a scientist at South Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute, said the North Korean missiles were believed to be carrying warheads, which contain trigger devices but not plutonium or uranium, to see whether those warheads could detonate properly. While KAMD will extend the protection of South Korea, from the outset, it was created to operate independently of foreign, regional missile defense networks such as those operated in the region by the U.S. Army and Navy. All three were fired into the sea off the east coast of North Korea.
Separately, the United Nations also denounced Pyongyang’s Tuesday missile tests and said that they were in violation of existing UN resolutions against the North. “What matters is how we enforce those sanctions and that actually involves better coordination among all the countries in the region and that includes China”, Mark Toner, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, told The Korea Times.
The MD is a sensitive issue because it can alienate neighboring countries such as China and Russian Federation that South Korea wants to maintain good relations with.
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It claimed the flight was “timed to coincide with the USA official decision to deploy THAAD in South Korea”.
