Moon sternly warns against N. Korea provocation

President Moon Jae-in speaks during an emergency National Security Council meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Sunday, following North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile from Kusong, North Pyongyan Province. The launch took place four days after Moon was sworn in as president. / Yonhap

NK missile launch overshadows Moon’s dialogue overture

North Korea launched a ballistic missile Sunday in what appeared to be a test of the new South Korean government’s inter-Korean policy just four days after Moon Jae-in took office.

Moon immediately convened an emergency National Security Council (NSC) meeting, in which he condemned the launch.

The president made it clear he will deal sternly with any provocations, saying dialogue is only possible if the North changes its hostile attitude.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said an unidentified missile flew about 700 kilometers after being launched at 5:27 a.m. from near Kusong, North Pyongyan Province, a military industrial area about 100 kilometers north of Pyongyang.

It was the Kim Jong-un regime’s first military provocation since Moon was sworn in Wednesday.

The flight distance suggests that the launch was successful, according to JCS officials. It was not clear what type of missile was launched.

“South Korea and the United States are analyzing more details in addition to its flight distance,” the JCS said in a statement. “Our military is maintaining a full readiness posture, closely monitoring the North’s military activities.”

The U.S. Pacific Command said it also detected the missile launch. It added that the “flight was not consistent with an intercontinental ballistic missile.”

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the missile traveled for about 30 minutes and reached an altitude of over 1,000 kilometers before falling into waters under Japan’s Air Defense Identification Zone in the East Sea.

Some analysts speculated that Pyongyang was testing either a Pukguksong-2, also known as a KN-15 missile, or a modified version, or even a new type of ballistic missile.

They cited that the launch site is where the Kim regime test-fired a Pukguksong-2, an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), in February.

“I don’t believe the missile test Sunday involved existing models, such Pukguksong-2 or Scud-ER, considering its flight distance was about 700 kilometers,” said Kim Dong-yup, a professor at the Institute for Far East Studies of Kyungnam University. “The test appears to be aimed at developing a new type of missile with an improved performance.”

David Wright, co-director of the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told the Associated Press that Sunday’s launch may have been of a new mobile, two-stage liquid-fueled missile that North Korea displayed during an April 15 military parade to mark that 105th anniversary of the birth of its founder Kim Il-sung

Wright estimated that the missile had a range of 4,500 kilometers if it travelled on a standard, instead of lofted, trajectory.

North Korea has carried out ballistic missile launches seven times this year, including a failed missile launch, April 29.

Moon issues warning to NK

During his first NSC meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, President Moon strongly condemned the launch, saying, “It was an apparent violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and also a serious challenge to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula as well as the international community.”

Moon said he found North Korea’s provocation regretful, citing that it came despite his speech to make full-pledged efforts to bring peace to the peninsula during his May 10 inauguration ceremony.

“I’m strongly warning North Korea, and at the same time, I find its reckless provocation deeply regretful.”

The president said he is open to resuming dialogue with North Korea, but added his government would deal sternly with the North’s provocations to ensure that the reclusive state does “not make a misjudgment.”

“We must show the North that dialogue will be possible only when it changes its attitude,” he said.

President Moon asked the military to bolster its deterrence against North Korea based on the South Korea-U.S. alliance. He especially urged the speeding up of efforts to develop Seoul’s indigenous Korea Air and Missile Defense system.

He told the foreign ministry officials to cooperate with the U.S., other South Korean allies and the international community to take relevant measures against the missile launch.

Among the participants at the NSC meeting were officials appointed by ousted President Park Geun-hye, including National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin, Defense Minister Han Min-koo, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo. But their participation was not problematic, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

“The officials from the previous government joined the NSC meeting because North Korea’s provocation came just days after the new administration began and we have not had sufficient time to fully form our new security and foreign policy lineup,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said. “We proceeded with the meeting in line with the security manual and NSC’s judgment.”

Kim Kwan-jin later had a telephone conversation with U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and they jointly condemned North Korea’s action.

Analysts assessed that the Moon administration signaled it will resolve the North Korea nuclear issue by working closely with the U.S. and other members of the international community.

Some speculated that Pyongyang was taking a jab at inter-Korean policy and the Seoul-Washington alliance under the Moon administration. Others disagreed, saying that North Korea was carrying out its missile test as scheduled regardless of the possibility of the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue

“We’ve seen North Korea deliberately escalating tension in the region in its past brinkmanship to see how its counterparts react,” said Yang Moon-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies.

Professor Kim Dong-yeop said, “I don’t think the missile launch was to test our new government’s response.”

“Pyongyang is going my way instead and the launch is believed to be just part of its missile development.”