KAMRAN ALISHOV WRITES-The United Nations Security Council announced an emergency meeting following North Korea’s latest missile launch.
On October 19th, North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile into waters off the coast of Japan. The information was immediately confirmed by South Korea’s military. At around 10:17 am, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected a short-range, submarine-launched ballistic missile being fired from waters near Sinpo on North Korea’s eastern coast. The ballistic missile landed in the Sea of Japan, which forced Japan’s new Prime Minister to interrupt his election campaign. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida later gave an interview during which he stated the launches were “very regrettable”. The ballistic launch increased tension between two states but also violated a number of international sanctions imposed by the United Nations.
North Korea is specifically forbidden from testing ballistic missiles as well as nuclear weapons, but Pyongyang keeps ignoring this rule without suffering severe consequences. North Korean experts argue that the launch was in reaction to South Korea’s new weapon developments, including Seoul’s announcement that it will reveal a new fighter jet as well as guided new weapons like missiles. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that he does not wish to restart war against South Korea but will continue developing weapons for the nation’s defense against enemies, including the United States, which he described as a hostile aggressor.
Pyongyang’s first presentation of the new missile was in January, during which it was described as “the world’s most powerful weapon”. In the past few weeks, it has carried out a number of such presentations, including those that it said were hypersonic and long-range weapons. These violate a number of strict international sanctions, which instantly triggered a world reaction and comments from various national leaders.
At this point, no country is backing down. Japan’s Prime Minister has stated that the country will be taking the necessary steps to protect itself. The United States also made a comment that recently launched missiles do not impose a threat to any American citizen and condemned any act of aggression, encouraging both sides to deescalate the situation. As of the moment, Washington is trying to revive the peace and denuclearization talks with Pyongyang that have, however, previously proven to be ineffective. Will the United States manage to achieve any deal under the Biden administration?