North Korea tests two missiles

Friday, March 26, 2021

On Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide announced North Korea fired two suspected ballistic missiles in the sea near Japan. Japanese authorities said the first missile was launched at 22:04 UTC and another followed at 22:23 UTC. According to reports, the two missiles flew for 420 and 430 kilometers respectively, before falling into the sea.

In an article published by Reuters, Harry Kazianis, senior director of Korean studies at the Center for the National Interest in Washington DC, said "This latest North Korean missile launch is most likely a reaction to U.S. President Joe Biden's downplaying and seeming to laugh off their weekend missile tests. [...] While Biden's comments and chuckle were clearly not meant to trigger a reaction, the North Koreans will use any pretext that is offered to raise the ante -- moving us closer and closer to the dark days of 2017". US president Biden said, "According to the Defense Department, it's business as usual. There's no new, there's no new wrinkle in what they did".

Earlier this week, North Korea fired two short range cruise missiles into their West sea, which neither South Korea nor the US considered a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions, Arirang News reported. Quoting local experts, Arirang News also reported, this past missile test "the act is aimed at sending Washington [DC] a warning without being too provocative."

Sources

"North Korea carries out suspected ballistic missile launch" — Al Jazeera, March 25, 2021
"QUOTES-Reaction to North Korea ballistic missile launch" — Reuters, March 25, 2021
Arirang News. "N. Korea test-fired two short-range cruise missiles last Sunday: S. Korean military" — YouTube, March 24, 2021
Choe Sang-Hun. "North Korea Fired 2 Ballistic Missiles, U.S. and Japan Say" — The New York Times, March 24, 2021

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