North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile off its east coast on Sunday, South Korean defense officials said. It was the latest in a series of missile tests the country has conducted in response to a large joint military drill by the United States and South Korea that is currently underway.
The launch on Sunday was the North’s first missile test since Thursday, when it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile. The country has staged nine rounds of missile tests so far this year, sometimes involving one projectile per test, other times multiples.
Hours after the North Korean missile launch, the South Korean military said that an American B-1B strategic bomber flew over the Korean Peninsula in a show of force against the North. U.S. F-16 fighter jets and South Korean F-35A stealth jets also joined the drill.
The missile was launched from Tongchang-ri in the northwest of North Korea, and flew 497 miles to the east before falling in waters between North Korea and Japan, the South Korean military said. The United States and its allies closely watch activities at the Tongchang-ri facilities, which North Korea said were built to launch satellites. But the allies said the North also have used the site to test new engines for its ballistic missiles.
The North launched two medium-range ballistic missile from Tongchang-ri in December, according to South Korean officials. But back then, North Korea said that it was just testing a rocket as part of its preparations to deploy a military reconnaissance satellite by April.
The United States and South Korea are in the middle of an 11-day joint military exercise code-named Freedom Shield. The drill, which began Monday, is part of their efforts to test and strengthen their combined capabilities to deal with the rising missile and nuclear threat from North Korea.
When the leaders of South Korea and Japan met on Thursday, they agreed to work together more closely with the United States to guard against North Korea.
North Korea calls all joint military exercises by the United States and South Korea a rehearsal for invasion, and it has vowed to take strong countermeasures.
In 2022, North Korea launched at least 95 ballistic and other missiles, more than in any previous year, continuing its campaign of brinkmanship in the face of international sanctions. Below is a summary of the launches the North has carried out since January 2022, according to data from state news media and from the South Korean military.
March 2023
North Korea Steps Up Missile Tests as Seoul and Washington Start Joint Military Drills
North Korea launched six short-range ballistic missiles off its west coast on March 9, testing what it called its ability to attack military airfields in the South. North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, watched the test with his young daughter, according to North Korean state media. Three days later, the North launched cruise missiles from a submarine for the first time.
On March 13, the United States and South Korea started Freedom Shield, one of their biggest combined military exercises in years, to check their combined capabilities to deal with the North’s military threat. Three days later, North Korea launched an ICBM. North Korea has vowed to take “persistent and strong” countermeasures against “frantic war preparation” by its enemies.
North Korea Conducts First Missile Test in a Month and a Half
North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on Feb. 18, its first ICBM test in three months. The test, which the North said involved its Hwasong-15 ICBM, came a day after its Foreign Ministry had warned of taking “unprecedentedly persistent and strong counteractions” against the annual joint military drills planned by the United States and South Korea.
The United States and South Korea staged a joint air drill involving B-1B bombers on Feb. 19 in response to the North’s ICBM test. In turn, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles the next day. Ms. Kim, Kim Jong-un’s sister, also threatened to use “the Pacific as our firing range.” On Feb. 23, North Korea launched four cruise missiles off its east coast to demonstrate what it called its “deadly nuclear counterattack capability.”
JANUARY 2023
North Korea Greets New Year With Missile Test
North Korea started the new year by launching a short-range ballistic missile, indicating that it would persist in weapons development in 2023. The missile was fired from Pyongyang, the capital and flew 248 miles before falling into the waters off the country’s east coast, the South Korean military said.
December 2022
New ICBM Appears to Be in Development
On Dec. 16, North Korea tested what it called a new, high-thrust rocket engine that used solid fuel as it looks to expand its capabilities. Two days later, it launched what the South Korean military called two medium-range ballistic missiles from the same site where the new rocket engine was tested. North Korea claimed that it was testing technologies to place a military spy satellite into the Earth’s orbit.
South Korean officials are analyzing data to determine if the tests had anything to do with the North’s efforts to build a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile. Such a missile would be easier to transport and hide, and faster to launch — and thus harder to intercept — than the North’s existing ICBMs, all of which depend on liquid fuel.
Kim Yo-jong, the sister and spokeswoman for the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, warned on Dec. 20 that the country may launch a missile on a full ICBM range for the first time in the country’s history. Experts have questioned whether North Korea possesses the technology to do so on full trajectory — entering space and blasting back through the Earth’s atmosphere to hit its intended target. Ms. Kim threatened to put those doubts to rest.
NOVEMBER 2022
A Next-Generation ICBM Is Tested
November was the busiest month in North Korean missile tests in 2022, with at least 46 ballistic and other missiles launched, half of them on Nov. 2 alone. One of the missiles fired that day flew over the inter-Korean maritime border and fell into waters off the east coast of South Korea, triggering an aerial-attack warning alarm on a populated island. In response, the South fired three air-to-surface missiles across the border into waters near North Korea.
The North capped its brisk weapons activities in November by test-firing the Hwasong-17, its newest and most powerful ICBM, on Nov. 18. The missile was launched at a deliberately steep angle, high into space. The flight data indicated that if launched at a normal angle, the missile theoretically could reach anywhere in the continental United States.
October 2022
A Missile Flies Over Japan
In the fall, South Korea, the United States and Japan stepped up joint military exercises to strengthen their deterrence against North Korea’s growing missile and nuclear threat. At the same time, North Korea’s missile tests became increasingly provocative. On Oct. 4, North Korea fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew over northern Japan, triggering alarms and prompting residents to seek cover. On Oct. 12, it launched what it called two “long-range strategic cruise missiles” that it said were deployed at units operating “tactical nukes.” It also claimed that it rehearsed the launching of “nuclear warheads” at “the enemies’ main military command facilities” during tests conducted on Oct. 6.
September 2022
First Test From an Underwater Silo
As the American aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan sailed to waters off the Korean Peninsula for joint military drills with South Korea and Japan in September and October, North Korea began testing short-range ballistic missiles. It said that one test simulated the launch of a nuclear missile from an underwater silo; another rehearsed the launch of “nuclear warheads” at airports in South Korea.
August 2022
North Rebuffs Overtures From South Korea
North Korea fired two cruise missiles off its west coast, two days after President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea made what he called an “audacious” proposal to the North. Mr. Yoon said South Korea would start providing economic incentives immediately if the North began serious negotiations to denuclearize. North Korea called him “simple” and “childish.”
June 2022
U.S. and Allies Respond to Provocations
Eight short-range ballistic missiles were fired from four different locations in North Korea. The missiles flew between 68 and 416 miles to the east. Over the next two days, South Korea and the United States conducted live-fire missile and joint air force drills to counter the North’s escalation.
May 2022
Biden Trip Prompts a Volley of Missiles
North Korea launched three ballistic missiles on May 25 while President Biden was flying home after a visit to South Korea and Japan. The first missile was believed to be an ICBM fired on a reduced range, covering a distance of only 224 miles. In response, the United States and South Korea each fired a ballistic missile in a counter military drill.
April 2022
North Korea Tests a New Weapon
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast in April. It later indicated that the “new-type tactical guided weapon” was developed as a means of delivering “tactical nukes.”
March 2022
One of the Most Powerful ICBM Launches
North Korea said on March 5 that it launched a rocket as part of its efforts to send a reconnaissance satellite into space. But South Korean and American officials said that the North was testing a Hwasong-17 ICBM. Not all of the Hwasong-17 tests were successful, with one rocket exploding shortly after takeoff. On March 24, a missile soared 3,850 miles into space in one of the North’s most powerful ICBM launches.
February 2022
North Korea Tests ICBM Technology
A projectile soared from the Sunan district of Pyongyang and flew 186 miles to the east in February. North Korea said the launch was part of its preparations to place a reconnaissance satellite in the Earth’s orbit. But South Korean and American officials said the North was testing a Hwasong-17, its latest-generation ICBM.
January 2022
A New Year Begins With Provocations
North Korea began the year with a series of short-range ballistic missile tests, including “hypersonic” missiles and some launched from train cars. On Jan. 27, it launched its Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile. The missile was first tested in 2017. This time, the North said it randomly selected one for testing from multiple Hwasong-12s “being produced and deployed” by the North Korean military.
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