After Resuming Trade With China, North Korea Fires Another 2 Ballistic Missiles

Mitch Shin
Introduction:
North Korea fired two missiles eastward from Sunan Airfield in Pyongyang on Monday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The missiles – suspected to be short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) were launched at 8:50 a.m. and 8:54 a.m. Korea Standard Time (KST), respectively, and flew about 380 km at a maximum altitude of 42 km, the JCS said.
Today’s missile test came three days after North Korea tested two railway-borne SRBMs on January 14, and marked the North’s fourth missile test in less than two weeks. North Korea also launched what it called hypersonic missiles on January 5 and January 11.
South Korea’s JCS said it is analyzing more details on the type and performance of the latest missiles with the U.S. military. Based on the information released by the JCS so far, the missiles could be North Korea’s KN-23, KN-24, or KN-25 missiles.
North Korea has not yet published any information on the performance of the missiles. Based on previous launches, state media will likely publish detailed information on the missile tests around 6-7 a.m. KST on Tuesday.
South Korea’s National Security Council held an emergency meeting hours after North Korea launched the two “apparent” SRBMs on Monday. In a statement after the meeting, the NSC called the North’s missile tests “very regrettable,” a slightly stronger response compared with its expression of “strong regret” after previous tests.
Related Publications
-
North Korea Likely to Lift Pandemic Border Restrictions in 2023
Abstract In his speech at the Workers’ Party at the end of December 2022, the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stressed that 2023 is the third year of key […]
-
North Korea Denounces Pelosi’s Visit to Taiwan
Introduction: North Korea’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson denounced the visit of Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, to Taiwan on Wednesday. “The current situation clearly shows that […]
-
Quad 4.0? To Securitize or Not to Securitize
From an ad-hoc body that emerged to coordinate a response to a devastating tsunami in 2004, the Quad has grown into a critical and formalized framework with a practical agenda. […]
-
Korean Peninsula Newsletter
The ISDP Asia Program publishes a weekly newsletter where you can find the most recent informed analysis from prominent think tanks and catch announcements straight from DPRK media. You don’t […]
-
ISDP Japan Newsletter
The Stockholm Japan Center provides an overview of the latest news, analysis and opinions from Japan in a weekly newsletter. You don’t want to miss an issue? Subscribe to the […]
-
In Search of an EU-India-Japan Trilateral
Introduction: Even before the war in Ukraine, the European Union had been gearing toward an “increasingly competitive strategic environment” by developing its geo-political autonomy to meet Europe’s security responsibility and reduce strategic […]