North Korea fires missile; minister to visit Russia as tensions rise

SEOUL - North Korea fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile on Jan 14, Seoul’s military said, days after Pyongyang staged live-fire exercises near the country’s tense maritime border with South Korea.

“Our military detected one suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile launched from the Pyongyang area towards the East Sea at around 14:55 (1.55pm Singapore time),” said Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) in a statement, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

The missile flew 1,000km, the JCS added, saying that the authorities in Seoul, Washington and Tokyo were analysing the specifications.

“We strongly condemn the latest missile launch by North Korea as it is a clear provocation that seriously threatens peace and stability on the Korean peninsula,” it said.

Japan’s coast guard also confirmed a suspected missile launch by North Korea, citing information from the country’s defence ministry, and warned vessels to take care.

North Korea’s last missile test was of a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which it fired into the East Sea/Sea of Japan on Dec 18. 

The apparent test comes days after North Korea conducted a series of rare live-fire drills near its maritime border with the South, prompting counter-exercises and evacuation orders for some South Korean border islands.

North Korea has been stepping up pressure on Seoul in recent weeks, declaring it the “principal enemy”, saying the North will never reunite with the South, and vowing to enhance its ability to deliver a nuclear strike on the United States and its allies in the Pacific.

“The historic time has come at last when we should define as a state most hostile towards the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea the entity called the Republic of Korea (South Korea),” North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was reported as saying on Jan 10 by the official Korean Central News Agency.

Analysts said at the time that the move was significant, signifying a shift in Pyongyang’s approach to Seoul into “ultra-hawkish mode”.

Meanwhile, Pyongyang’s isolated government is forging closer ties with Moscow. Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui will visit Russia from Jan 15 to 17 at the invitation of her counterpart Sergei Lavrov, KCNA news agency said on Jan 14.

The US and its allies have condemned what they described as Russia’s firing of North Korean missiles at Ukraine, with Washington calling it abhorrent and Seoul calling Ukraine a test site for Pyongyang’s nuclear-capable missiles.

Moscow and Pyongyang have denied conducting any arms deals but vowed in 2023 to deepen military relations.

The US State Department on Jan 11 imposed sanctions on three Russian entities and one individual involved in the transfer and testing of North Korea’s ballistic missiles for Russia’s use against Ukraine.

Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in decades, after Mr Kim enshrined the country’s permanent status as a nuclear power into the Constitution and test-fired several advanced ICBMs.

In 2023, Pyongyang also successfully put a reconnaissance satellite into orbit, after receiving what South Korea claimed was Russian assistance, in exchange for arms shipments for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Mr Kim has also test-fired a string of advanced ICBMs, including a purported solid-fuel version.

At Pyongyang’s year-end policy meetings, he threatened to launch a nuclear attack on the South and called for a build-up of his country’s military arsenal ahead of armed conflict that he warned could “break out any time”.

Pyongyang declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power in 2022 and has repeatedly said it will never give up its nuclear weapons programme, which the regime views as essential for its survival.

The United Nations Security Council has adopted many resolutions calling on North Korea to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes since Pyongyang first conducted a nuclear test in 2006. AFP, REUTERS