North Korea: tension rises on the Korean peninsula after new missile launches

Europe 1 with AFP 7:01 p.m., November 02, 2022

North Korea launched at least 23 missiles on Wednesday, one of which fell near South Korean territorial waters, causing a sharp rise in tensions with its southern neighbor, which responded by launching three missiles towards the sea. South Korean Yoon Suk-yeol castigated Pyongyang's "provocation", denouncing a "de facto territorial invasion".

The United States "condemns" the salvo of missiles sent by North Korea, said Wednesday John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House, and in particular the "dangerous decision" of Pyongyang to fire a missile near South Korean territorial waters.

In addition, Washington accused Pyongyang of "covertly providing aid to Russia's war against Ukraine".

John Kirby referred to a "significant number" of artillery munitions that North Korea would have shipped to Russia, adding that Washington was investigating whether this military aid had been received.

Russia for its part called on "everyone to keep calm".

A hundred artillery fire in the "buffer zone"

"All parties to this conflict must avoid taking steps that could cause tensions to rise," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"The situation on the peninsula is already tense enough."

For his part, the President of the European Council Charles Michel said he was "outraged" by the missile fire by North Korea, denouncing the "aggressive" and "irresponsible" behavior of Pyongyang.

The North Korean military also fired more than 100 artillery rounds in the maritime "buffer zone" between the two countries, as South Korea and the United States carried out in the region. important aerial maneuvers denounced by Pyongyang.

Three North Korean short-range ballistic missiles were launched at 8:51 a.m. (2351 GMT Tuesday, November 1), and one crossed the "Northern Limit Line", which is the de facto maritime boundary between the two countries.

The firing prompted a rare airstrike alert on the South Korean island of Ulleungdo, about 120 km east of the Korean peninsula, where residents were told to take shelter in bunkers.

According to the Seoul military, it was "the first time since the division of the peninsula" after the Korean War in 1953 that a North Korean missile fell so close to southern territorial waters.

>> READ ALSO -

 Ukraine: the United States is concerned about a possible Russian nuclear strike

A South Korean response

"The North Korean provocation is a de facto territorial invasion by a missile that crossed the Northern Limit Line for the first time since the division" of the peninsula, the South Korean presidency said in a statement.

Before and after the launch, North Korea launched a total of 22 other projectiles during the day Wednesday, including short-range ballistic missiles and surface-to-air missiles, according to the South Korean military.

At the beginning of the afternoon, again according to Seoul, the North Korean army carried out around a hundred artillery fire from the province of Kangwon, in the south-east of the country, towards the interior of the "zone border buffer established in 2018 in the hope of reducing tensions and the risk of armed incidents between the two countries.

One of the missiles launched in the morning ended its course at sea just 57 kilometers from the South Korean city of Sokcho in northeastern South Korea, the South Korean military said, calling it " very rare and intolerable" this unprecedented salvo.

She announced in the wake of having fired, for her part, three air-to-surface missiles near the inter-Korean maritime border.

President Yoon Suk-yeol called a meeting of the National Security Council over the incident, one of the most aggressive in years, analysts say.

"Watchful Storm"

The South Korean president also ordered "swift and severe measures so that North Korea pays a high price for its provocations".

South Korea has closed several air routes over the Sea of ​​Japan, advising airlines to detour to "ensure the safety of passengers on routes to the United States and Japan".

Seoul and Washington are holding the largest joint air exercise in their history, dubbed "Vigilant Storm", involving hundreds of warplanes from both armies.

Pak Jong Chon, marshal and secretary of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, called the drills aggressive and provocative, official North Korean media reported on Wednesday.

According to him, the name of these maneuvers echoes Operation "Desert Storm", the name given to the military operations of the coalition led by the United States against Iraq in 1991 after the invasion of Kuwait.

"If the United States and South Korea try to use their armed forces against the (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), the special means of the DPRK armed forces will accomplish their strategic mission without delay," said Pak Jong Chon. , according to the state agency KCNA.

Towards a 7th nuclear test by North Korea?

"The United States and South Korea will have to pay the most horrible price in history," threatened the marshal.

The missiles fired by North Korea constitute "the most aggressive and threatening show (of force) against the South since 2010", Cheong Seong-chang, a researcher at the Sejong Institute, told AFP.

In March 2010, a North Korean submarine torpedoed a South Korean corvette, killing 46 sailors.

In November of the same year, the North had bombarded an island bordering South Korea, causing the death of four people, two civilians and two soldiers.

Wednesday's firings come after another long series in September and October, which the North has called tactical nuclear exercises.

Washington and Seoul repeatedly warn that Pyongyang could carry out a new nuclear test which would be the 7th in its history.

“Pyongyang seems to have completed its most powerful deterrent measure: it is a serious threat, Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha University, told AFP. The North also seems confident in its nuclear capabilities.