North Korea fires unidentified ballistic missile

Europe 1 with AFP 11:30 a.m., February 18, 2023

North Korea fired at least one unidentified ballistic missile on Saturday, the South Korean military said, days before a joint simulation exercise between Washington and Seoul.

"North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile towards (the) East Sea," the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the name given to the Sea of ​​Japan.

Tokyo also confirmed the launch, with its defense ministry saying Pyongyang launched a "possible ballistic missile" without giving further details.

Military tensions increased on the Korean Peninsula in 2022

Military tensions rose on the Korean peninsula in 2022, when Pyongyang called its status as a nuclear power "irreversible" and conducted a record series of weapons tests.

In response to its northern neighbour, Seoul conducted joint military maneuvers with the United States, its key security ally, as a means for it to convince South Korean public opinion of the American commitment to deter Pyongyang from any attack.

Saturday's firing, the first in seven weeks, comes as the two allies prepare to conduct a simulation exercise, to be held next week in Washington, to discuss measures to be taken in the event of a use of nuclear weapons by Pyongyang.

This exercise will focus on "joint planning, joint management and joint response with Washington's nuclear means" in the event of an attack on Pyongyang with atomic weapons, a ministry official told AFP on Friday. South Korean Defense.

North Korea threatens the United States and South Korea

North Korea threatened on Friday to react with "unprecedented" force to the upcoming US-South Korean maneuvers, seeing them as preparations for an armed conflict.

If Washington and Seoul carry out these exercises, "they will face strong and unprecedented countermeasures (...)", a spokesman for Pyongyang's diplomacy said in a statement.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office in May 2022 promising to be tough on Pyongyang, has dramatically stepped up military exercises with the United States, which were greatly reduced during the war. pandemic, and interrupted during unsuccessful diplomatic maneuvers under the tenure of his predecessor Moon Jae-in.

Seoul called Pyongyang an "enemy" in a defense document on Thursday, a term it used for the first time in six years, signaling a further hardening of its stance on North Korea.