North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, watched on as the secretive nation tested two new types of air-defense missiles, state media reported on Sunday.
Why It Matters
North Korea has pushed ahead with its weapons development and military buildup while turning away from long-term efforts to secure peace on the divided peninsula with its southern neighbor.
Western officials and experts believe Russia offered a helping hand in its military programs, and Pyongyang is sharply critical of U.S. ties to South Korea and Japan—countries looking on with deep anxiety at the North’s burgeoning nuclear weapons program, intercontinental ballistic missile tests and showcasing of hypersonic designs.
What To Know
North Korean missile experts test-fired two “improved” types of air-defense missiles at several targets to “test their combat capability,” the state-run KCNA news agency reported on Sunday. Kim was joined by several senior North Korean officials for the trials on Saturday.
The missiles “are very suitable for destroying various aerial targets,” the news agency reported. The weapons—built with Pyongyang’s “unique and special technology”—can quickly respond to incoming attack drones and cruise missiles, according to state media.
The United Nations Command, a multinational force set up to support South Korea, said on Sunday roughly 30 North Korean soldiers had crossed the border on the peninsula earlier in the week, with Seoul firing warning shots at the troops and blasting warnings.
The North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line on Tuesday in an area where the northern country had been “conducting construction and maintenance activities,” a spokesperson for the command said, in remarks reported by South Korean media. Pyongyang said the North Koreans were carrying out “a permanent barrier project near the southern border line.”
The warning shots fired by the south were a “serious provocation,” Pyongyang said. Seoul’s military said the soldiers returned north of the military demarcation line and did not return fire.
South Korea kicked off large-scale joint military drills with the U.S. on August 18, scheduled to last until August 28. North Korea had called the exercises a threat to stability on the peninsula.
South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myun, is expected to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday after a visit to Japan over the weekend. Lee, who took over in Seoul in early June, has led fresh efforts to engage with the North, which have largely been rebuffed by Pyongyang.
What People Are Saying
The vice-chief of the General Staff of North Korea’s army, Lieutenant General Ko Long Chol, said on Friday, after South Korea fired warning shots at North Korean soldiers: “This is a very serious prelude that would inevitably drive the situation in the southern border area where a huge number of forces are stationing in confrontation with each other to the uncontrollable phase and the DPRK army is keeping tabs on the present situation.” DPRK, or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is North Korea’s official name.
U.S. State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on Friday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had met with South Korea’s foreign minister, Cho Hyun, and “reinforced the importance of U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation.” South Korea’s is officially known as the Republic of Korea.
What Happens Next
North Korea has given little indication it will be receptive to U.S. or South Korean attempts to reduce tensions on the divided peninsula.
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