North Korea Fires Two Ballistic Missiles To Pressure U.S.

On Friday, North Korea fired two ballistic missiles in the sea of Japan. This was in an attempt to put pressure on the United States to resume possible talks between the two countries. 

A New Tactical Guided Weapon

A report by North Korea’s state-owned media KCNA declared that its new tactical guided weapon had accurately hit its target 370 miles off the coast. However, South Korean officials disagreed with the North’s claim. They declared that the ballistic missile only reached 270 miles. 

The real capacity of the ballistic weapon remains disputed. Political experts believed that the underlying message behind the military exercise should not be taken lightly. According to Tom Plant, director of proliferation and nuclear policy at the Royal United Services Institute, he believed that  Kim Jong-Un understands that North Korea’s issues were not a top priority for the United States. “North Korea is doing what it can to fix that. It wants to be noticed,” Plant said. 

What US President Biden Has To Say About That

Indeed, North Korea’s recent military drill did not go unnoticed. On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden immediately addressed the issue in his first press conference as President. “We’re consulting with our allies and partners, and there will be responses,” he said. Biden also gave a stern warning against North Korea, “If they choose to escalate, we will respond accordingly.”

The U.S. President also said that the country is prepared to make negotiations as long as North Korea is willing to consider a denuclearization agreement. 

The United Nations Security Council also held a conference on Friday as a response to the missile launch. In their discussion, the Council agreed to issue a new resolution that would monitor North Korea’s nuclear activity.

This is not the first time that the U.N had issued a sanction against the communist regime over its missile tests. In 2016 and 2017, the U.N issued a sanction over reports that North Korea is conducting a nuclear test as a part of its plan to launch a nuclear strike on the U.S. 

On the other hand, North Korea accused the international organization of an alleged double standard. In a statement, senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official Jo Chol Su criticized the new U.N resolution. “It constitutes a denial of sovereignty and an apparent double standard that the UNSC takes issue, on the basis of the U.N. ‘resolutions’ — direct products of the U.S. hostile policy toward (North Korea),” the foreign minister said. 

Jo also condemned the resolution by saying that the U.N refused to impose the same sanctions on countries that are conducting similar nuclear missile tests. He also warned that the alleged “double standards” would have a “serious consequence”. 

Kim Jong-Un’s Sister Coming To His Rescue 

Kim Jong-Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong also commented on the ballistic test. In a broadcast by the state media, Kim Yo Jang, who had become an influential figure in the communist regime, lashed out against South Korean President Jae-in Moon. 

Moon had previously aired his concern over North Korea’s increasing nuclear weapons test, arguing that the military program imposes a threat to national security. In her response, Kim Yo Jang called out Moon’s statement as both “illogical” and proof that South Korea sympathizes with the U.S’s “gangster-like logic.”