The United States and South Korea launched four surface-to-surface missiles into the East Sea, also known as the so-called Sea of Japan, which is located between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, one day after North Korea launched a medium-range ballistic missile.
According to the Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, both sides fired two missiles from the Army’s Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) on Wednesday, successfully hitting dummy targets during a joint drill.
And the South Korean military announced that North Korea had launched an unspecified ballistic missile, in a new episode of the series of tests conducted by Pyongyang, at a time when Seoul is intensifying its joint military exercises with Washington.
In response, the Allies conducted air exercises later in the day and a South Korean F-15K fighter jet launched offensive munitions into a firing range on an island in the Yellow Sea.
It is significant that Pyongyang, which is in possession of nuclear weapons, carried out a pace-unprecedented series of tests this year.
The North Korean military conducted four short-range ballistic missile launches last week as the culmination of these tests.
By conducting a record number of military tests this year and passing a new law allowing it to launch pre-emptive nuclear strikes, including in response to attacks with conventional weapons, Pyongyang has advanced its banned weapons programmes amid stalled negotiations with the United States, making its nuclear force “irreversible.”
North Korea, on the other hand, typically tries to magnify the geopolitical impact of its military tests by conducting them at a moment that seems most opportune to it. North Korea is under UN sanctions as a result of its prohibited weapons programmes.
On the other hand, Seoul, Tokyo, and Washington conducted a trilateral submarine defence exercise on September 30th, the first of its type in five years.
Days earlier, the US and South Korean navies had conducted extensive drills off the peninsula.
In order to highlight the US’ “unwavering” commitment to defending South Korea against the North, US Vice President Kamala Harris travelled to Seoul on September 29 and toured the demilitarised zone between the two Koreas.
Launches of test missiles by the United States and South Korea
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