N.Korea fires salvo of missiles, including ICBM, hours after Biden leaves Asia (updated)
24/05/2022 22:29
(Adds S.Korea comment)
By Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL, May 25 (Reuters) - North Korea fired three missiles,
including one thought to be an intercontinental ballistic
missile (ICBM) on Wednesday, after U.S. President Joe Biden left
Asia following a trip in which he agreed to new measures to
deter the nuclear-armed state.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the three missiles
were fired in less than an hour from the Sunan area of the
North's capital, Pyongyang, where its international airport has
become a hub of missile tests.
The first missile launched on Wednesday appeared to be an
ICBM, while a second unidentified missile appears to have failed
mid-flight, the South said. The third missile was a short-range
ballistic missile (SRBM), it said.
In response, the United States and South Korea held combined
military drills, including surface-to-surface missile tests,
South Korea's military said.
North Korea has conducted a flurry of missile launches this
year, from hypersonic weapons to test firing its largest ICBMs
for the first time in nearly five years. It also appears to be
preparing for what would be its first nuclear test since 2017.
U.S. and South Korean officials had recently warned that
North Korea appeared ready for another weapons test, possibly
during Biden's visit, which was his first trip to Asia as
president and included a summit with South Korean President Yoon
Suk-yeol in Seoul.
Yoon, who took office on May 10, convened his first meeting
of the national security council, which strongly condemned the
latest launch as a "grave provocation", especially as it came
before Biden returned home.
Yoon ordered the aides to strengthen the U.S. extended
deterrence and combined defence posture as agreed with Biden,
his office said.
"North Korea's continued provocations will only result in
even stronger, faster South Korea-U.S. deterrence, and bring
deeper isolation upon itself," Yoon's government said in a
separate statement.
A White House official said that Biden, who departed Japan
on Tuesday evening, had been briefed on the launches and would
continue to receive updates.
Japan reported at least two launches, but acknowledged that
there may have been more. One of the missiles flew a distance of
about 750 km (465 miles) to a maximum altitude of 50 km and
appeared to be capable of shifting its trajectory in flight,
Japan's defence minister said. Another missile flew about 300 km
and reached a maximum altitude of 550 km, he said.
Japanese broadcaster NHK said the missiles appeared to have
fallen outside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Japanese chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the
North could take more provocative actions including a nuclear
test.
The U.S. military's Indo-Pacific Command said it was aware
of "multiple" launches. They highlighted the "destabilising
impact of the DPRK's illicit weapons programme" but did not pose
an immediate threat, it said in a statement, using the initials
of North Korea's official name.
In Seoul over the weekend, Biden and Yoon agreed to hold
bigger military drills and deploy more U.S. strategic assets if
necessary to deter North Korea's intensifying weapons tests.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2XD00U
But they also offered to send COVID-19 vaccines to North
Korea as the isolated country battles its first confirmed
outbreak, and called on Pyongyang to return to diplomacy.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2XG2PU
There had been no response from Pyongyang to the diplomatic
overtures or offers of aid, Biden said at the time.
The waning hours of Biden's visit to the region also saw
Russian and Chinese bombers flying joint patrols near Japanese
and South Korea air defence zones on Tuesday in a pointed
farewell. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2XG3OU
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; additional reporting by Soo-hyang
Choi and Josh Smith in Seoul, David Brunnstrom in Washington;
editing by Richard Pullin and Gerry Doyle)
((hyonhee.shin@thomsonreuters.com;))