North Korea test-fired a tactical ballistic missile on Monday to verify what it called a technical upgrade of “an important core element” of its weapons systems, state media reported Tuesday, as South Korea and Japan tracked multiple launches toward the Sea of Japan.
The Korean Central News Agency said the Missile Administration conducted the test launch on October 12 and described the upgrade as “a big success heralding an important change in improving the performance and sophistication of all offensive weapon systems.” The agency did not disclose further details.
What Seoul and Tokyo tracked
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected multiple ballistic missiles launched from the Pyongyang area at about 9:20 a.m. local time on Monday, with at least one flying more than 900 kilometers toward the East Sea.
Japan’s parliamentary vice defense minister, Takashi Koyari, said Japan tracked at least two missiles fired 17 minutes apart — the first flying about 220 kilometers and the second more than 910 kilometers — both falling outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Japan lodged a protest with Pyongyang through diplomatic channels, condemning the launches as violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Context
It was North Korea’s 16th ballistic missile launch this year and its fourth in a month, coming days after South Korea disclosed the first test flight of a domestically developed hypersonic glide vehicle.
President Donald Trump said Monday that he may meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during an upcoming visit to Asia. “I may, yeah. That’ll be exciting, won’t it? But I get along with him,” Trump told reporters.
Sources: Reuters; Korea JoongAng Daily; IANS.
