On Wednesday, the South Korean military reported that North Korea had launched multiple cruise missiles towards the Yellow Sea. This development comes at a time of heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, with Pyongyang conducting a series of weapons tests and joint military exercises taking place between the United States and South Korea in the region.
In response to the launches, Seoul stated that it would closely monitor for any further signs of missile activity while maintaining close coordination with the United States. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff described these tests as “provocations.”
This recent launch follows North Korea’s testing of a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile with a hypersonic warhead less than two weeks ago. Additionally, the country’s state media reported that Pyongyang had tested an “underwater nuclear weapon system” in response to naval drills conducted by South Korea, the United States, and Japan, which involved the US aircraft carrier ‘USS Carl Vinson.’
Despite repeated warnings from North Korea, Seoul and Washington carried out a series of live-fire exercises near the border last year, asserting that these drills were defensive in nature. The US and its allies accuse North Korea of violating international restrictions on its missile program.
Recently, the US and South Korea resumed large-scale joint exercises that were previously halted in 2017 as part of de-escalation efforts. Furthermore, Seoul announced that the 2018 agreement to suspend military exercises along the border was now null and void due to Pyongyang’s artillery tests.
