The Security Council fails to take a stand on Pyongyang due to division
North Korea launches 4 missiles towards the "West" sea in a rare accident
Two American B-1B bombers participate in a joint exercise between South Korea and the United States.
Reuters
North Korea fired four short-range ballistic missiles into the West Sea yesterday, the South Korean military said, in the latest missile launches by Pyongyang this week.
This coincided with the conclusion of the joint air exercises between South Korea and the United States, after two of the American strategic bombs joined forces.
In detail, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the South Korean army detected four short-range ballistic missiles launched by North Korea from Tunrim, in North Pyongan Province (west), towards the West Sea yesterday morning.
The distance covered was about 130 km, at an altitude of about 20 km, and at a speed of about Mach 5.
This speed is five times faster than the speed of sound.
It is extremely rare for the North to launch a ballistic missile from the northern region towards the West Sea instead of the East Sea, so the South Korean military is conducting an analysis on this development.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said that South Korean and US intelligence were conducting further analyzes of the data on the launches.
The exercises concluded yesterday, during which the US Air Force deployed two long-range B-1-B bombers, on the last day that witnessed a show of force.
Yesterday, the two US strategic bombers participated in the joint air exercises with four South Korean F-35A fighter jets and four US F-16 fighter jets.
While the supersonic B-1B bomber no longer carries nuclear weapons, the US Air Force considers it the "backbone of the long-range bomber" capable of striking anywhere in the world.
The US Air Force says the bomber is capable of carrying 34 tons of munitions, which can include cruise missiles and laser-guided bombs.
The bomber's range can be extended by refueling it in the air, giving it the ability to launch strikes anywhere in the world.
The participation of the two American bombers in the maneuvers came a day after South Korea deployed combat aircraft in response to what it said was the movement of 180 North Korean warplanes.
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield, said Friday that the series of missile tests conducted by North Korea constitutes a "mockery" of the Security Council, in also veiled criticism of China and Russia.
"These members justified the repeated violations by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and in turn empowered the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and mocked this Council," she added during a session of the Security Council.
Moscow and Beijing, in turn, blamed Washington for the escalation, and the meeting ended without a joint statement from the Security Council.
The divided Security Council at its ninth session prevented a decision this year on the issue of North Korea, or action against the rising tensions on the Korean peninsula.
The 15 members did not agree on a joint statement.
Instead, a number of countries - including the United States, Britain and France - have separately condemned Pyongyang's missile tests.
Before the meeting, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, his spokesman, said he was "very concerned about the tension on the Korean peninsula and the escalation of confrontational rhetoric."
Moscow and Beijing hold Washington responsible for the escalation on the Korean Peninsula
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