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N.Korea tests Hwasong-12 ballistic missile, biggest missile since 2017, US worried

TPUwebTeam
By TPUwebTeam
AsiaNews

SEOUL – North Korea confirmed on Monday that it had launched a missile Hwasong 12, the same weapon that once threatened to target US in Guam “with a blazing fire,” sparking fears that a nuclear-armed state could resume long-range missions.

Introduction of intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) first reported https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korea-fires-projectiles-into-sea-off-east-coast-yonhap -2022 -01-29 by South Korean and Japanese authorities on Sunday. It was North Korea’s seventh test this month https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/flurry-missile-tests-displays-nkoreas-increasingly-diverse-arsenal-2022-01-28 once the first time a powerful arrow was launched nuclear of that size from 2017

The United States is concerned that an increase in North Korean missile tests could be a precursor to a re-examination of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and vows an unspecified response “designed to demonstrate our commitment to our partners,” a U.S. official told reporters in Washington. .

“It’s not just what they did yesterday, the fact that this comes after a series of tests this month,” the official said, while urging Pyongyang to join the direct talks unconditionally.

North Korea has said it is open to negotiations, but Washington’s downfall undermines its support for sanctions and joint military training and weapons development in South Korea and the region.

Among the many negotiations in 2018, which included conferences with the then US. President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has announced that his nuclear arsenal is complete and has said he will suspend nuclear tests and launch the country’s longest-range missiles.

Kim said he was no longer bound by the decision after the suspension of negotiations in 2019, and North Korea suggested that this month it resume such inspections because the United States was showing no signs of abandoning “hostile policies.”

It is not yet clear whether IRBMs like the Hwasong-12 have been included in Kim’s suspension, but no one has been tested since 2017.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the recent North Korean missile test was reminiscent of the tense situation in 2017, when North Korea conducted a series of nuclear tests, launched large missiles, and issued “fire and fury” threats from the United States. .

South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook visited his country’s Army Missile Command on Monday to see if it was ready to deal with North Korea’s launch, the department said in a statement.

“North Korea series of missile tBOOSTING MISSILE CAPABILITIES

Sunday’s inspection “confirmed the accuracy, safety and effectiveness of the Hwasong-12-based weapons program,” North Korean state media KCNA said.

The state media did not comment on the United States, and Kim did not attend. North Korean officials have said this month that defense tests will not be directed at any particular country.

Kim vowed before the New Year to strengthen North Korea’s military power in the face of international uncertainty caused by “hostile policies” by the United States and its allies.

North Korea once said that Hwasong-12 could carry a “heavy nuclear head the size of a giant,” and analysts estimate that it is 4,500 miles (2,800 miles). and a major threat to us and a major challenge to international peace and stability, ”Suh said after the report. “We will maintain a state of readiness for war that can respond quickly to any situation.”

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told reporters that North Korea was increasing its resentment of the international community and said that its “amazing development” in archery technology was “unbearable.”

PROMOTING EVENT SKILLS

Sunday’s inspection “confirmed the accuracy, safety and effectiveness of the Hwasong-12-based weapons program,” North Korean state media KCNA said.

The state media did not comment on the United States, and Kim did not attend. North Korean officials have said this month that defense tests will not be directed at any particular country.

Kim vowed before the New Year to strengthen North Korea’s military power in the face of international uncertainty caused by “hostile policies” by the United States and its allies.

North Korea once said that Hwasong-12 could carry “a huge heavy nuclear weapon,” and analysts estimate that it is 4,500 miles (2,800 miles) wide.

In August 2017, a few hours after Trump told the North that any US threat would be met with “fire and rage”, the North’s Strategic Forces chief said he was “carefully considering a firefighting plan” that involved simultaneously. unveiled four Hwasong-12 arrows toward Guam.

That year a North Korean airline tested the Hwasong 12 at least six times, which involved flying twice over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

KCNA said the launch of Sunday’s missiles was done in a way to ensure the safety of neighboring countries, and that a test warhead was mounted on a camera while it was in space. (Reported by Josh Smith and Jack Kim; Additional Report by David Brunnstrom in Washington and Satoshi Sugiyama in Tokyo; Edited by Lincoln Feast.)

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