N. Korea fires 6 projectiles into East Sea
By Jun Ji-hye
/ Graphic by Cho Sang-won
North Korea fired six short-range projectiles into the East Sea, Thursday, in an apparent show of force after the United Nations’ adoption of new sanctions against the regime.
“North Korea fired six projectiles into the East Sea at about 10 a.m. from an area near Wonsan,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.
“The projectiles were believed to fly about 100 to 150 kilometers.”
Wonsan is a major port city on the isolated state’s east coast.
The South Korean military is currently analyzing the nature of the projectiles.
An official from the Ministry of National Defense said on condition of anonymity that they are presumed to be short-range missiles such as KN-01s, or those fired from a 300-millimeter multiple launch rocket system.
“The military is maintaining a thorough readiness while monitoring and tracing movements of North Korean troops,” the JCS said.
This is the first time for the North to fire short-range projectiles this year. It fired three KN-01s into the East Sea, also from Wonsan, on June 14 last year.
The launch took place hours after the U.N. Security Council unanimously voted for Resolution 2270 that will impose the harshest sanctions yet on the Kim Jong-un regime for its Jan. 6 nuclear test and Feb. 7 rocket launch, both of which defied existing sanctions.
More provocations feared
The adoption of the sanctions is raising concerns that the Kim regime be preparing new types of provocations as it has already played the nuclear and long-range rocket cards.
They also noted that the ruling Workers’ Party’s Congress — the first in 36 years slated for early May — could also affect the North’s decision on any action.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, told reporters, “Ahead of the congress, it is highly likely that the North could launch lower-intensity provocations rather than another nuclear test or long-range rocket launch.”
He noted that the lower-intensity provocations would include the deliberate crossing of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas in the West Sea, firing artillery shells, launching short- or middle-range missiles, or cyber terrorism.
Moon Sung-mook, a retired Army brigadier general and senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute for Strategy, also told reporters, “The North could also carry out terrorist attacks on the South’s crowded facilities such as subways or shopping malls.”
However, Chang Yong-seok, a senior fellow at the Institute for Peace and Unification affiliated with Seoul National University, did not rule out the possibility that the repressive state may offer dialogue with Seoul, given that China, its traditional ally, suggested holding peace treaty discussions between the United States and the North.
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