- Pyongyang threatens a "fiercer" military response to US moves.
 |
| Pedro Sánchez inaugurates the headquarters of the Cervantes Institute in Seoul together with Minister Reyes Maroto. |
Pyongyang launches another ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan: coincides with Pedro Sánchez's visit to South Korea
North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan on Thursday, just hours after the North Korean foreign minister threatened to "give a more ferocious response" to US moves to strengthen its deterrent power on the Korean peninsula.
"Our military captured a short-range ballistic missile launched by North Korea into the East Sea (the name given to the Sea of Japan in the two Koreas) from Wonsan, Gangwon Province, at around 10:48 a.m. local time today, November 17," the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported in a brief statement.
The missile flew about 240 kilometers with an apogee of 47 km and at a maximum speed of Mach 4 (four times the speed of sound), added the JCS, which revealed that after the launch South Korea and the United States held a conversation to reaffirm their combined defense posture.
This launch coincides with the visit of the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, to neighboring South Korea and comes after the Pyongyang regime fired some thirty missiles at the beginning of November in response to major air maneuvers by Seoul and Washington, which has increased tension in the region.
The essay also comes just hours after the North Korean Foreign Minister, Choe Son-hui, warned against taking "fiercer" military actions against the United States and its allies as a result of the three-party dialogue recently held with Japan and South Korea.
"The more enthusiastic the United States is about the enhanced offer of extended deterrence to its allies and the more it intensifies military activities of provocation and show-off on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, the fiercer the military reaction will be," said Choe Son- hui in a statement, while warning that Pyongyang's response will pose a "more serious, realistic and unavoidable threat to the United States and its vassal forces."
 |
| People watch a North Korean missile launch on TV in Seoul on November 17, 2022. |
Last Sunday the leaders of the three countries, Yoon Suk-yeol, Fumio Kishida, and Joe Biden, agreed to take "decisive measures" to achieve the complete denuclearization of North Korea and exhibited their commitment to strengthen the so-called "deterrence extended".
Extended deterrence
Enhanced or extended deterrence consists of sending US strategic assets to and around the Korean Peninsula in a "coordinated manner and as necessary" based on the actions of the northern regime.
Choe's words come after the Pyongyang regime fired thirty missiles in early November, a record number, in response to major air maneuvers by Seoul and Washington, which has further increased tension in the region.
The tension on the peninsula is reaching unprecedented levels due to the repeated North Korean weapons tests, the maneuvers of the allies, and the possibility that, as indicated by satellites, the Kim Jong-un regime is already ready to carry out its first test. nuclear since 2017.
Tags:
World