North Korea fired two ballistic missiles on Friday (December 23rd), the South Korean military said, the latest in a recent series of tests.

"Our military spotted two short-range ballistic missiles launched by North Korea into the East Sea from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at around 4:32 p.m. (0732 GMT) today," it said. South Korean Joint Staff, in reference to the sea also known as the Sea of ​​Japan. 

“Our military maintains a posture of full readiness”, cooperates “closely with the United States” and reinforces “surveillance and vigilance”.

The launch comes after a year of unprecedented weapons testing by North Korea, including the launch of its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November.

The United States and South Korea have been warning for months that Pyongyang is about to carry out its seventh nuclear test. 

The powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-un also insisted earlier this week that the North had developed advanced technologies to take images from space using a spy satellite.

The two countries held a joint air exercise on Tuesday and deployed a US B-52H strategic bomber to the Korean Peninsula, the Southern Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The long-range heavy bomber was part of an exercise that included the most advanced military aircraft from the United States and South Korea, including the F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters.

Friday's launch came hours after the White House said Pyongyang had delivered weapons to Russian private military group Wagner.

In a statement picked up by the state-run KCNA news agency, North Korea's foreign ministry denied any arms deal with Russia, saying the story was "made up by some dishonest forces".

A record series of trials

Despite heavy international sanctions weighing on its weapons programs, Pyongyang has built an arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), of which North Korea launched its most advanced example this year, marked by a record series of tests. armaments.

All of its listed ICBMs, however, are liquid fueled.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un considers the development of solid-fuel engines to manufacture more advanced missiles a strategic priority.

Liquid-fueled rockets are notorious for being difficult to operate and require a long time to prepare for launch, making them slower and, for the enemy, easier to spot and destroy.

Solid-fuel missiles, which are easier and more mobile, require less preparation time and are more difficult to detect before firing.

Among the goals unveiled in 2021 by Kim Jong-un is the development of solid-fuel ICBMs that could be launched from land or from submarines.

The leader of Pyongyang also declared in 2022 that he wanted his country to have the most powerful nuclear force in the world, describing in September as "irreversible" the status of nuclear power of the North.

Pyongyang has been under multiple UN Security Council sanctions over its nuclear and missile program since 2006.

With AFP

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