The latest launches were personally ordered and monitored by Kim, according to the North’s official KCNA news agency.
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North Korea declared on Wednesday that it had conducted a ballistic missile test aimed at simulating strikes against South Korean ports and airfields used by the U.S. military.
Under orders from its leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea has worked to step up its nuclear and missile program.
North Korea fired three ballistic missiles that flew between 500 km and 600 km (300-360 miles) into the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s military said, the latest in a series of provocative moves by the isolated country.
The missiles possessed the range to reach any target in South Korea, including Seongju, the mountainous area about 135 miles south of Seoul where the United States plans to put its Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.
The missiles came from the Hwangju region, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The missile-defense battery is created to detect and destroy incoming North Korean missiles, but Beijing strongly opposes its deployment in South Korea because the system’s powerful radar can scan not only North Korean but also Chinese territory.
Pyongyang fired what is thought to be two short-range Scuds and the third medium-range Rodong missile on Tuesday (19 July), which, again, escalated tensions in the Korean peninsula.
Bordallo said that the initial request for a THAAD system on Guam was to provide “a sense of security” for island residents after the North Korean regime started its “continued aggression and erratic behavior”.
Despite North Korea’s boasts, there is considerable doubt about whether North Korea has mastered the next, hard steps: making nuclear warheads small enough to mount on a missile, and then being able to deliver it. While many analysts, and a considerable number of American officials, think that it’s just a matter of time until the North can do this, there’s been no evidence to suggest they’re there yet.
The official’s remarks highlights the potentially bumpy diplomatic relations South Korea would have to wade through vis-a-vis its biggest trading partner in the run-up to the country’s deployment of the high-tech USA defense system.
Washington and Seoul began intense consultations on THAAD after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January, which was followed by a satellite launch and a string of test-launches of various missiles.
Due to the isolationist nature of North Korea, not much is known about their technology or intentions. The kill chain aims to enhance Seoul’s capability to detect and destroy North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction.
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Hwang Kyo-ahn, South Korea’s Prime Minister, said missile tests had been “a rare phenomenon in the past” but have been going on “continuously” this year.
