According to US and South Korean officials on March 24, North Korea has just fired two missiles. This is the first shooting since the new administration of Joe Biden took office and days after the US Secretary of State and Defense traveled to Seoul.
North Korea fired two short-range, non-ballistic missiles on Tuesday night, according to US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. The US official claimed that the US government was not paying much attention because it was within the framework of normal activities of North Korean military. On the other hand, the launch of such missiles is not covered by the UN ban.
According to South Korean military sources, the two missiles that North Korea has just fired are croisière missiles, fired from the Yellow Sea aimed at China, not Japan.
White House officials say they are aware of North Korea’s missile launch plans, but the US administration does not want to publicize it. Answering to reporter, Biden said that according to the Defense Ministry, it was a normal act that North Korea has always done.
Also, Cheong Seong-chang, an analyst at the Sejong Institute in South Korea, told AFP that North Korea should not be the only one to launch a missile attack, which is interpreted as a “threat”, South Korean side also does very often.
Noted that North’s missile launch is the first since Joe Biden took office. Last week, the US Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense traveled to Japan and South Korea to discuss the North Korean issue. North Korea may also launch a missile in response to a joint US-South Korean military exercise last week.
Recently, Kim Yoo-jung, Kim Jong-un’s sister, came out to threaten Joe Biden administration “if the United States want to close its eyes and sleep well, it must stop looking at North Korea”. Not reacting to the threat, Biden administration said it has still opened to negotiations with North Korea. However, the United States will not give up joint military exercises with South Korea.
