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State media said Pyongyang tested an anti-aircraft missile on Thursday as it continued its carrot and stick strategy on sanctions.
North Korea fired a newly developed anti-aircraft missile, state media said, the second known test in a week, even as it made overtures of reconciliation to South Korea.
The test took place on Thursday, two days after the country launched a groundbreaking initiative hypersonic missile.
The anti-aircraft missile had “remarkable combat performance” and included dual rudder controls and other new technology, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
A photo in the Rodong Sinmun Official Journal showed the missile soaring at an angle to the sky from a launcher.
North Korea resumed missile testing in September after a six-month lull, firing a nuclear-capable cruise missile then a pair of ballistic missiles on board a railroad.
South Korea, Japan and the United States typically reveal North Korean missile tests soon after they are completed, but they did not report Thursday’s incident, suggesting it may not be considered. as an important weapon test.
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense told AFP news agency it was unable to immediately confirm the latest launch.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to have missed the test, which was instead overseen by Pak Jong Chon, a member of the powerful Politburo and the ruling Workers’ Party Central Committee.
“The remarkable combat performance of the new type of anti-aircraft missile with characteristics of rapid reactivity and guiding precision of the missile control system as well as the substantial increase in the distance of downed air targets has been verified,” he said. KCNA said, citing the Academy. of Defense Science, a developer of military weapons.
North Korea has developed increasingly sophisticated weapons, claiming to want to strengthen its defensive capabilities against the “hostile” United States and South Korea.
The North has escalated tensions in recent weeks by carrying out a series of missile tests, including what it said was a newly developed hypersonic missile, the Hwasong-8. [KCNA via Reuters]Denuclearization talks have stalled since 2019, and Pyongyang has long used weapons testing to escalate tensions and attempt to advance diplomatic and strategic goals.
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Some experts say North Korea is pressuring South Korea not to criticize its ballistic missile testing, which is banned by UN Security Council resolutions, as part of its quest to obtain international recognition as a nuclear power.
Others say the North wants the South to persuade the United States to ease crippling economic sanctions. He also wants to get closer to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who wants to preserve his legacy before he leaves office next year.
On Wednesday Kim said he had no reason to attack South Korea and was ready to reopen the severed inter-Korean hotlines, but that Washington’s repeated offers of unconditional talks were a “little trick,” accusing US President Joe Biden’s administration of continuing the “hostile policies” of his predecessors.
With its latest actions, Pyongyang sought to “highlight its presence on the world stage and its military capabilities,” defector-turned-researcher Ahn Chan-il told AFP.
Moon used his recent speech at the United Nations to reiterate his calls for a formal declaration of an end to the Korean War – the fighting ended in 1953 with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
Ahn said, “They’re buying time this way and trying to make the most of Seoul’s proposal to officially declare the Korean War to end, as well as Washington’s offer to speak without any preconditions. . “
(Al Jazeera)The latest tests drew international condemnation, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying they created “greater prospects of instability and insecurity.”
The United States, Britain and France have called a UN Security Council meeting on North Korea, due to take place on Friday.
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