North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile as US Submarine Makes Port Call in South Korea

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North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile Into Sea as US Submarine Makes Port Call in South Korea

Seoul, South Korea – In a tense escalation of tensions, North Korea launched at least one ballistic missile into the sea on Wednesday, according to reports from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The launch came just hours after a US nuclear-armed submarine made its first port call in South Korea in decades.

The type of missile fired is still under analysis, but it is believed to have landed in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. The Japan Coast Guard has reported a possible second missile launch, adding to concerns over North Korea’s increasing weapons tests.

The launch is the latest in a series of provocative actions by Pyongyang and occurs as Seoul and Washington strengthen defense cooperation amid rising tensions with the North. On Tuesday, the two countries held the first meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group in Seoul and announced the visit of a US nuclear submarine to Busan port, marking the first such visit since 1981.

This move was expected to provoke a strong response from North Korea, which has been reluctant to allow the deployment of US nuclear assets on the Korean peninsula. It also comes less than a week after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the launch of the country’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-18.

Diplomatic relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have deteriorated, and Kim has called for increased weapons development, including the development of tactical nuclear weapons. In response, joint military exercises involving advanced stealth aircraft and strategic US assets have been organized by Seoul and Washington.

The missile launch further deteriorates already strained relations between the two Koreas, with no diplomatic contacts and an increase in weapons tests by the North. Adding to the tensions, Washington confirmed on Tuesday that North Korea is believed to have detained a US soldier who crossed the heavily fortified border.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of Kim Jong Un and first deputy department head of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party, recently denounced the repeated illegal entry of a US military reconnaissance plane into North Korea’s economic water zone over the Sea of ​​Japan.

The launch took place while South Korean President, Yoon Suk-yeol, was attending the NATO summit in Vilnius. The president had just established a new cooperation framework with the alliance in areas such as cybersecurity and hybrid technologies.

The situation on the Korean peninsula remains highly volatile, and the international community is closely monitoring the developments with growing concern.

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