Ns News Online Desk: BEIJING- With its resumption of intercontinental ballistic missile launches, North Korea appears resolved to go full steam ahead with bolstering its military capabilities at a time when the U.N. Security Council has become dysfunctional amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Concerns are growing that Thursday’s launch may herald more provocative actions from Pyongyang, such as conducting its first nuclear test since 2017, with South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol pledging to put more pressure on the North in tandem with its security ally, the United States.
North Korea confirmed it fired a new type of “Hwasong-17” intercontinental ballistic missile under the guidance of leader Kim Jong Un, state-run media reported Friday.
The missile, fired from Pyongyang International Airport, was claimed to have traveled up to a maximum altitude of 6,248.5 kilometers and a distance of 1,090 km on its 67-minute flight before hitting a target in the Sea of Japan, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
Kim was quoted by KCNA as saying North Korea has been “fully ready for long-standing confrontation with the U.S. imperialists,” as bilateral talks between Washington and Pyongyang on denuclearization and sanctions relief have been stalled for more than two years.
The leader “gave a written order” to conduct the test of the new type of ICBM on Wednesday and he visited the launch site on Thursday, the news agency said.
The Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, on Friday ran photos of a missile believed to be the Hwasong-17, which resembles one displayed at a military parade staged in October 2020.
By taking moves certain to heighten security tensions in the region, it is believed that North Korean leader Kim will try to cajole Washington into easing economic sanctions against his country and bring to a halt U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises that Pyongyang has slammed as “rehearsal for war.”
In November 2017, Pyongyang launched what it called its “most powerful” ICBM, capable of delivering a nuclear warhead anywhere in the continental United States. The firing came following its sixth nuclear test in September that year.
Afterward, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, including Russia and China, which are friendly to North Korea, strengthened sanctions aimed at thwarting Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile ambitions, taking a heavy toll on the nation’s economy.
But the Security Council has been “effectively dead” since Russia attacked Ukraine on Feb. 24, a diplomatic source said, principally with the veto-wielding member obstructing the council’s work related to its invasion.
Kim may believe that “now is a good chance” to test-fire ICBMs as the Security Council, which has been divided and unable to act over Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, is “unlikely to join hands” to impose further sanctions on North Korea, the source said.
As the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden and its security allies are forced to focus on the Ukraine crisis, North Korea is “certain to continue testing weapons in accordance with its plan,” determined at a key ruling party gathering in January 2021, the source added.
