N. Korea Launches Ballistic Missiles toward the Northeast

North Korea has launched ballistic missiles in five months and the South Korean government has detected them heading northeast. Now South Korea is developing a ballistic missile in response. 

According to the Associated Press, “South Korea’s military said it detected multiple short-range ballistic missiles that were launched from an area south of Pyongyang and flew about 350 kilometers (220 miles) toward the northeast. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t release more specific flight details but said the missiles didn’t land in the sea.” 

With this ballistic missile and their program for nuclear weapons, the United States and treaty allies in East Asia, South Korea and Japan are being pushed into closer military ties with this cooperation viewed as provocative by North Korean President Kim Jong-Un. 

The missile launch comes before the APEC summit. According to Politico “Experts earlier said North Korea could launch provocative missile tests before or during the APEC summit to underscore its commitment to being recognized as a nuclear weapons state. Experts say Kim would need that status to call for the U.N. to lift punishing economic sanctions on it.”

In addition, the missile had been reported heading toward the Sea of Japan. Japan`s female Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi modified her schedule in response to the reports of North Korean missiles being launched. 

Takaichi had to arrive at the Prime Minister`s Office at 9 a.m. which is an hour and 30 minutes earlier than her initial schedule instructing government officials to use intelligence gathering and analysis to confirm the launch.

Moreover, she had told reporters that there had been no objects falling in their waters or economic zones. Takaichi had also instructed her foreign ministers to gather information for public safety. 

In response to this, South Korea has developed a ballistic missile. The missile is called the Hyunmoo-5 ‘monster missile’ and it weighs around 36 tons, about 16 meters long and has a range from 600 km to almost more than 5,000km. 

It is also reported that the missile can carry an eight ton warhead and carries a warhead that could destroy fortified bunkers called a “bunker buster.” It is also supposed to be a surface-to-surface missile with capabilities of being launched from a mobile platform. 

Apart from a new ballistic missile, the South had also fired warning shots at 20 soldiers from the North who crossed the DMZ into a city north of Seoul called Paju until they retreated. It was also reported that these North Korean soldiers were either clearing land and laying landmines within the DMZ. 

The idea for this missile came from attacks by North Korea back in 2010 after deadly attacks along with the bombardment of Yeonpyeong island killing 50 South Koreans and the sinking of a warship called the Cheonan warship. 

It seems that North Korea is becoming an aggressor because four months ago, it was reported that they launched a dozen rockets which landed into the Yellow Sea. Then back in March, they tested five ballistic missiles as a warning to the U.S. President Donald Trump`s inauguration. The missiles had also landed in the Yellow Sea.