N. Korea's missile launches alarm Japan ahead of Olympics

SEOUL/TOKYO • North Korea launched two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea near Japan yesterday, underscoring steady progress in its weapons programme and ramping up pressure on the new US administration as it reviews its North Korea policy.

The apparent tests, which were reported by the authorities in the United States, South Korea and Japan, coincided with the start of the Olympic torch relay in Japan.

They would be the first ballistic missile tests by North Korea in nearly a year, and the first reported since US President Joe Biden took office in January.

Analysts said the latest missile tests did not mean denuclearisation diplomacy was dead, but that they highlight an inconvenient truth for Mr Biden: Pyongyang's arsenal is advancing, increasing its potential bargaining power should talks resume.

"Every day that passes without a deal that tries to reduce the risks posed by North Korea's nuclear and missile arsenal is a day that it gets bigger and badder," said Associate Professor Vipin Narang, a nuclear affairs expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Yesterday's launches came just days after North Korea fired several cruise missiles in an exercise that Mr Biden said was not provocative but "business as usual".

The Biden administration is in the final stages of its North Korea policy review, and has been simultaneously signalling a hard line on human rights, denuclearisation and sanctions while making diplomatic overtures that have so far been rebuffed by Pyongyang.

It would be a mistake for Washington to ignore the advances in North Korea's short-range missiles, especially after leader Kim Jong Un declared in January that his military had the technology to miniaturise nuclear warheads and place them on tactical missiles, said Mr Markus Garlauskas, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council and former US national intelligence officer for North Korea.

"Downplaying North Korean ballistic missile tests... would only encourage North Korea to further test the bounds of what the new administration can accept," he said.

The missile launches highlight the threat North Korea's illicit weapons programme poses to its neighbours and the international community, the United States military's Indo-Pacific Command said.

North Korea typically confirms such missile tests - which it says are part of its sovereign right to self-defence - in state media the day after they happen.

Japan's coast guard said the first missile was detected soon after 7am and flew about 420km, followed by a second missile 20 minutes later that flew about 430km.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said two "short-range missiles" were fired into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan from North Korea's east coast.

South Korean and US intelligence agencies were analysing the data of the launch for additional information, the JCS said.

Prof Narang said that even short-range ballistic missile tests would be a "step up" from the weekend cruise-missile test and allow North Korea to improve its technology while sending a proportionate response to recent US-South Korea military drills.

The launches overshadowed the start of the Olympic torch relay in Japan, beginning a four-month countdown to the Summer Games in Tokyo.

"The first launch in just less than a year represents a threat to peace and stability in Japan and the region and violates UN resolutions," Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said, adding that he would ensure a safe and secure Olympics and discuss the launches with Mr Biden during his visit to Washington next month.

Japan lodged a protest through its embassy in China, while South Korea's National Security Council expressed deep concern.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed the need to establish peace and stability in north-east Asia. "This means all related countries need to abandon arms race and escalation of military activities of any form," he said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula was the goal of all mankind.

"We call on the relevant sides to meet each other halfway and continue to maintain the de-escalation situation to advance political settlement and work for lasting peace and security on the peninsula," she said.

REUTERS