SEOUL: North Korea fired multiple suspected short-range ballistic missiles on Friday (May 17), Seoul said, hours after leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister denied widespread allegations that Pyongyang is shipping weapons to Russia.
The launches are the latest in a string of ever more sophisticated tests by North Korea, which has fired off cruise missiles, tactical rockets and hypersonic weapons in recent months, in what the nuclear-armed country says is a drive to upgrade its defences.
Seoul and Washington have accused North Korea of sending arms to Russia, which would violate rafts of UN sanctions on both countries, with experts saying the recent spate of testing may be of weapons destined for use on battlefields in Ukraine.
Seoul’s military said Friday it had detected the launch of what it described as “several flying objects presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles” from North Korea’s eastern Wonsan area into waters off its coast.
The missiles travelled around 300km, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that the military had “strengthened vigilance and surveillance in preparation for additional launches” and was sharing information with allies Washington and Tokyo.
The launches came just hours after Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong accused Seoul and Washington of “misleading the public opinion” on the issue with their repeated accusations that Pyongyang is sending weapons to Moscow for use in Ukraine.
They also come as Russian leader Vladimir Putin was in China on Friday, the final day of a visit aiming to promote crucial trade with Beijing – North Korea’s most important ally – and win greater support for his war effort in Ukraine.
The tests also came a day after advanced South Korean and US stealth fighters, including Washington’s F-22 Raptors, staged joint air combat drills.
Such exercises typically infuriate Pyongyang, which views them as rehearsals for invasion.
“WARNING MESSAGE”
The North has appeared especially sensitive to air drills in the past, with experts noting its air force is the weakest link in its military.
“It appears that this is a counter-military demonstration in response to recent South Korea-US air exercises,” Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.
“It also appears to contain a warning message regarding the large-scale South Korea-US joint exercises scheduled for August,” Yang said.
