In the latest dangerous escalation between the rival nations, North Korea has test-fired at least ten missiles, including one aimed at a populated South Korean island, prompting Seoul to fire three missiles in retaliation.
In what the South termed a “unprecedented” provocation, one of the North’s missiles crossed the Northern Limit Line, the unofficial maritime border between the Koreas, and landed approximately 100 miles from the island of Ulleung.
Kim Jong-un also ordered his artillery to fire 100 rounds into a ‘buffer zone’ close to the demarcation line. In response, South Korea fired three air-to-surface missiles from fighter jets into waters near North Korea’s territory.
The retaliatory missile launches occurred just hours after Pak Jong Chon, secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party, issued a veiled nuclear threat on Kim’s behalf, stating that the United States and South Korea would “pay the most horrendous price in history” if they attacked North Korea first.
The regime in Pyongyang is enraged by the joint military exercises being conducted by Washington and Seoul on the North’s border, which it views as a rehearsal for an invasion. The allies assert that such war simulations are vital to confront threats posed by a string of missile tests by the North, trapping the three nations in an unrelenting spiral of escalation.
Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council of the White House, stated, ‘We reject the suggestion that [the war simulations] are provocative in any way.
“We have made it quite clear that we have no aggressive intentions toward [North Korea], and we urge them to engage in meaningful and persistent negotiation.”
“[North Korea] remains unresponsive. In addition, we will continue to work closely with our allies and partners to limit North Korea’s capacity to progress its illegal weapons programs and undermine regional stability.
Monday marked the beginning of Vigilant Storm, one of the United States and South Korea’s greatest combined military air drills, with hundreds of jets from both sides simulating attacks 24 hours a day.
This year, North Korea has conducted a record number of missile tests, and it has claimed that the current flurry of launches was in response to allied exercises.
In recent months, tensions on the Korean Peninsula have reached an all-time high, with North Korea testing a series of nuclear-capable missiles and enacting a legislation authorizing the preemptive use of its nuclear weapons in a variety of scenarios.
Experts continue to doubt that North Korea could initiate the use of nuclear weapons in the face of superior US and South Korean forces.
North Korea has stated that its recent nuclear tests were meant as a warning to the United States and South Korea in response to their series of joint military drills, which it considers as an invasion rehearsal, including this week’s operations involving over 240 warplanes.
Pak Jong Chon, a secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party who is believed to be a close confidant of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, described the so-called ‘Vigilant Storm’ air force exercises as ‘aggressive and provocative.’
In an apparent reference to the Pentagon’s newly issued National Defense Strategy study, Mr. Pak again accused the Pentagon of making the collapse of the North Korean regime a main policy priority. Any nuclear assault by North Korea against the United States or its allies and partners, according to the assessment, “would result in the end of that regime.”
He criticized South Korean military commanders for their ‘ridiculous’ threats to attack North Korea if it utilizes nuclear weapons. The military of South Korea has warned North Korea that the use of its nuclear weapons would lead to its own destruction.
Mr. Pak made an apparent reference to his country’s nuclear weapons when he stated, “If the US and South Korea attempt to employ armed forces against (North Korea) without fear, the unique means of (North Korea’s) armed forces will carry out their strategic purpose without delay.”
He stated, “The United States and South Korea will confront a terrible case and pay the worst price in history.”
Officials from the United States and South Korea have repeatedly stated that their drills are defensive in nature and that they have no plans to attack North Korea.
Mr. Pak’s remark is the second warning the North has issued this week to the United States and South Korea. Monday, the North’s Foreign Ministry threatened’stronger follow-up measures’ in reaction to its adversaries’ air force exercises.
North Korea may conduct its first nuclear test since September 2017 in the next weeks, according to South Korean officials, which could bring the country one step closer to its aim of developing a nuclear arsenal capable of striking regional US allies and the American mainland.
The expansion of North Korea’s nuclear weapons could be used as leverage in future discussions with the United States to obtain sanctions relief and other concessions, according to some experts.