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N.Korea in ‘arms for food’ deal with Russia: US

US spokesman Kirby said North Korea seeks to secure food supplies in exchange and that the potential arms deal is being arranged through a Slovakian arms dealer…reports Asian Lite News

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that North Korea is working to send dozens of kinds of weapons and munitions to Russia to be used in Moscow’s ongoing war against Ukraine in exchange for food supplies, the media reported on Friday.

Addressing a virtual press briefing on Thursday, Kirby said North Korea seeks to secure food supplies in exchange and that the potential arms deal is being arranged through a Slovakian arms dealer, identified as Ashot Mkrtychev, reports Yonhap News Agency.

“We remain concerned that North Korea will provide further support to Russia’s military operations against Ukraine,” he said, noting that North Korea delivered large quantities of munitions to Russia late last year.

“As part of this proposed deal, Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Korea. We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions.”

The US Department of Treasury said it has imposed sanctions on Mkrtychev for arranging the arms deal between North Korea and Russia.

Seoul : The captured image shows a photo released by the U.S. National Security Council on Jan. 20, 2023, showing a set of Russian railcars traveling between Russia and North Korea on Nov. 18-Nov. 19, 2022 for a suspected delivery of North Korean military equipment to Russia’s private military company, the Wagner Group. (Yonhap/IANS)

“Between the end of 2022 and early 2023, Mkrtychev worked with DPRK officials to obtain over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions for Russia in exchange for materials ranging from commercial aircraft, raw materials, and commodities to be sent to the DPRK,” the Department said in a statement.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

Kirby emphasised that any provision of weapons or munitions to Russia by North Korea would be in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, which prohibit any shipments of weapons to and from the North.

“Any arms deal between North Korea and Russia would directly violate a series of UN Security Council resolutions. We’ve taken note of North Korea’s recent statements that they will not provide or sell arms to Russia and we are continuing to monitor this closely,” he told the briefing.

“We are going to continue to identify, expose and counter Russian attempts to acquire military equipment from North Korea or from any other state that is prepared to support its war in Ukraine.”

North Korea is one of the poorest countries in the world and has experienced chronic food shortages for decades, including a devastating famine in the mid-to-late 1990s, the BBC reported.

In February, experts warned the reclusive nation was facing a critical food crisis due to a significant drop in production — worsened by poor weather, strict border controls and the effect of international sanctions.

Satellite imagery from South Korean authorities shows that the North produced 180,000 tonnes less food in 2022 than in 2021.

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‘Radioactive tsunami’: N.Korea tests new underwater nuke weapon

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a ground test of a "high-thrust solid-fuel motor" at Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Cholsan, North Pyongan Province, on Dec. 15, 2022.(Yonhap/IANS)

The North claimed that the drones, designed to make a super-scale radioactive tsunami” to destroy naval striker groups and major ports of its enemies…reports Asian Lite News

North Korea tested a new underwater nuclear weapon earlier this week capable of spawning a “radioactive tsunami”, Pyongyang’s state media said on Friday.

Separately, the North also conducted a cruise missile drill using missiles “tipped with a test warhead simulating a nuclear warhead” as it slammed the combined military exercises between South Korea and the US as an “actual drill” for “occupying” Pyongyang, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a report.

The Central Military Commission of the North’s ruling Worker’s Party (WPK) commanded the drills from March 21 to 23 “in order to alert the enemy to an actual nuclear crisis and verify the reliability of the nuclear force for self-defence”, Yonhap News Agency quoted the KCNA as saying.

The “underwater nuclear attack drone” was deployed off the coast of Riwon county, South Hamgyong province, on Tuesday and reached the target point in the waters off Hongwon Bay set as a mock enemy port with its test warhead detonating underwater on Thursday afternoon, it said.

The drone cruised “along an oval and pattern-8 course at an underwater depth of 80 to 150 meters in the East Sea of Korea for 59 hours and 12 minutes”.

The North claimed that the drones, designed to “stealthily infiltrate into operational waters and make a super-scale radioactive tsunami” to destroy naval striker groups and major ports of its enemies, can be deployed “at any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation”.

North Korea began developing such underground nuclear weapons in 2012 to “outpace the military and technical superiority of the imperialist aggressor forces”, the KCNA said.

The test warhead of an “underwater nuclear attack drone” of North Korea detonates underwater after it was launched off the coast of Riwon County, South Hamgyong Province, on March 21, 2023.(Yonhap/IANS)

The “secret weapon” was named “unmanned underwater nuclear attack craft ‘Haeil'” at the eighth congress of the WPK in 2021 and has undergone more than 50 shakedowns in the past two years, it added.

On Wednesday, the North also test-fired strategic cruise missiles “tipped with a test warhead simulating a nuclear warhead”, according to the KCNA.

It said two “Hwasal-1” strategic cruise missiles and two “Hwasal-2” strategic cruise missiles, launched in South Hamgyong province, accurately hit the target set in the East Sea.

The missiles flew on their “programmed 1,500km- and 1,800km-long oval and pattern-8 orbits for 7,557 to 7,567 seconds and 9,118 to 9,129 seconds respectively.

South Korea’s military earlier said it detected multiple cruise missile launches from the North’s eastern city of Hamhung on Wednesday morning.

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US calls for action against DPRK’s 7th nuclear test

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a ground test of a "high-thrust solid-fuel motor" at Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Cholsan, North Pyongan Province, on Dec. 15, 2022.(Yonhap/IANS)

Kim’s assertion that his country will never abandon its nuclear weapons, has invited global reactions and concerns, mainly from South Korea, the United States, and Japan…reports Asian Lite News

The United States has raised concern over a possible 7th nuclear test by North Korea, urging the international community to take concerted action in response to such a destabilising event.

In his final address to media briefing as the spokesperson of the US State Department, spokesperson Ned Price said, “DPRK has finalized all of the steps it would need to take to conduct what would be its 7th nuclear test. A 7th nuclear test would be a dangerous provocation that would itself constitute a significant threat to peace and security in the region.” Indian American Vedanta Patel will soon step in as the interim spokesperson of the US State Department, as Ned Price is going to step down.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s assertion on September 8 that his country will never abandon its nuclear weapons and the growing speculations that it is preparing for its seventh nuclear explosion has raised many questions in South Korea and its “Security Treaty partner” United States.

Kim has now made his “rubber-stamp parliament” pass a new law that spells out conditions where North Korea would be inclined to use its nuclear weapons.

The law requires North Korea’s military to “automatically” execute nuclear strikes against enemy forces, including their “starting point of provocation and the command,” if Pyongyang’s leadership comes under attack.

The new law also says that North Korea could use nukes to prevent an unspecified “catastrophic crisis” for its government and people. In other words, Pyongyang will not hesitate to use its nuclear weapons when threatened proactively.

Kim was referring to the region of the United States and its allies. His latest comments underscored the growing animosity in the area as he accelerates the expansion of his nuclear weapons and missiles program.

“The entire world would need to respond in a case like that. Countries on the Security Council, especially the Permanent Five, we would hope to see, concerted action in response to such a destabilising event,” urged US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price.

Predictably, Kim’s assertion has invited global reactions and concerns, mainly from South Korea, the United States, and Japan. These three countries are most affected if and when North Korea fires missiles and conducts nuclear tests.

Meanwhile, North Korea fired two “strategic cruise missiles” from a submarine in waters off its east coast over the weekend in an apparent protest over a regular South Korea-US combined military exercise to begin this week, state media said on Monday, reported Yonhap News Agency.

The missiles were fired from 8.24 Yongung in waters off Kyongpho Bay in the East Sea in an underwater launching drill held at dawn Sunday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The latest launch came on the eve of the allies’ major Freedom Shield exercise, which kicks off Monday. The North has decried the exercise as “preparations for a war of aggression” against it.

Washington and Seoul are scheduled to kick off the Freedom Shield (FS) exercise Monday for an 11-day run, along with a large-scale field manoeuvre, called the Warrior Shield. (ANI)

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North Korea fires ICBM into East Sea

This undated file photo released by the Korean Central News Agency shows a North Korean missile launch. (Yonhap/IANS)

North Korea previously fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2022.

North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile into the East Sea on Saturday, according to South Korea’s military.

North Korea’s second ballistic missile provocation this year came as South Korea and the US plan to hold a joint military training next week against Pyongyang’s potential use of nuclear weapons, Yonhap news agency reported.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 5:22 p.m. and that the missile, fired at a lofted angle, flew some 900 km.

It did not give other details, saying the intelligence authorities of the South Korea and the US are conducting a detailed analysis on the missile’s specifics.

North Korea previously fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2022.

“The North’s long-range ballistic missile launch this time is an act of significant provocation that harms peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the international community,” the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) watches a sports event with his daughter and other top officials on Feb. 17, 2023, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day. (Yonhap/IANS)

It also called the launch a “clear” violation of UN Security Council resolutions and urged the North Korea to immediately stop such a provocative act.

“While tracking and monitoring related movements in close cooperation with the US in preparation against the possibility of additional provocations, our military will maintain a firm readiness posture capable of responding overwhelmingly to any North Korean provocations,” the JCS added.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the country will take “unprecedentedly persistent and strong” counteractions should the allies press ahead with their plans to stage combined military drills.

They are scheduled to conduct a table-top exercise at the Pentagon next week under the scenario of nuclear use by North Korea. They are also scheduled to hold the regular springtime Freedom Shield (FS) exercise next month.

The FS exercise is set to take place alongside concurrent large-scale field drills in line with the allies’ push to strengthen the scope and scale of their joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a ground test of a “high-thrust solid-fuel motor” at Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Cholsan, North Pyongan Province, on Dec. 15, 2022.(Yonhap/IANS)

With the latest missile launch, some observers here said, the North Korea might be protesting at the South Korea’s labelling of its regime and military as an “enemy” in its updated defence white paper made public earlier this week.

North Korea fired at least 70 ballistic missiles, including eight ICBMs, last year alone, the most in a single year.

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US stepping up weapons deployment to counter N.Korea

Austin, who is on a visit to Seoul, and his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-Sup agreed to further expand their combined military exercises…reports Asian Lie News

The United States will increase its deployment of advanced weapons such as fighter jets and bombers to the Korean Peninsula, said Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.

The statement from Austin comes as Washington is strengthening joint training and operational planning with South Korea in response to a growing North Korean nuclear threat.

Austin, who is on a visit to Seoul, and his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-Sup agreed to further expand their combined military exercises, including a resumption of live-fire demonstrations, and continue a “timely and coordinated” deployment of U.S. strategic assets to the region, according to their offices, according to Associated Press report.

During the meeting, the two leaders strongly condemned the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) continued provocations and violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions, including its missile launches and recent drone incursions, Pentagon said in a statement.

They also affirmed that the ROK-U.S. Alliance, along with the international community, will continue to take a strong stance against any further provocations by the DPRK, it added.

They have also reaffirmed measures to enhance the implementation of U.S. extended deterrence to underscore its security commitment to the ROK.

The South Korean Ministry of National Defence and the U.S. Department of Defence will hold the Deterrence Strategy Committee Table-top Exercise (DSC TTX) in February, in order to facilitate discussions on deterrence and response options to deal with the DPRK nuclear threat.

Lee and Austin also discussed measures to strengthen regional security cooperation including ROK-U.S.-Japan trilateral security cooperation.

The two leaders committed to following up on developing specific courses of action to facilitate trilateral sharing of missile warning data, as agreed by the three countries’ leaders at the November 2022 Phnom Penh Summit.

Meanwhile, North Korea on Monday denounced a visit to Seoul by Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General, as a “prelude” to war, saying the move could bring a “new Cold War” to the Asia-Pacific region.

In an article carried by the Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Tong-myong, a researcher of the North’s organization on international political study, said Stoltenberg’s current trip appears to be aimed at “instigating” the creation of the Asian version of NATO, reports Yonhap News Agency.

“The trip of the NATO secretary general to South Korea and Japan is a prelude to confrontation and war as it brings the dark clouds of a ‘new Cold War’ to the Asia-Pacific region,” Kim said.

Stoltenberg arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a two-day stay, and in a meeting with Foreign Minister Park Jin, he said the North’s support of Russia’s war with Ukraine reinforces the need for the rest of the world to stay “interconnected” in their security efforts.

The NATO chief plans to visit Japan later in the day for a two-day visit.

The North’s researcher condemned Stoltenberg as the head of the military organization that turned Ukraine into a “theatre of proxy war”.

Kim said Stoltenberg will raise the need to build the Asian version of NATO, and put pressure on Seoul and Tokyo for their passive military support to Ukraine at a time when the US has decided to supply tanks to Ukraine.

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Biden names N.Korean human rights envoy

US President Joe Biden signs government spending bill( https://www.instagram.com/p/CmxSKuRL0D-/?igshid=OTRmMjhlYjM=)

Julie Turner will also be the first serve the post since early 2017 if appointed….reports Asian Lite News

Amid rising tensions with North Korea, US President Joe Biden has nominated a state department official as a new special envoy for North Korean human rights, the White House said.

Julie Turner, director of East Asia and the Pacific at the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, has been nominated to serve as special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, Yonhap news agency reported, citing the White House.

“Turner has served more than 16 years in the Office of East Asia and the Pacific, in positions of increasing responsibility, primarily focused on initiatives related to promoting human rights in North Korea, including a tour as special assistant in the Office of the Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues,” the White House said in a press release.

If appointed, Turner will serve with the rank of ambassador, it added.

She will also be the first serve the post since early 2017 if appointed.

Turner earned her master’s degree at the University of Maryland at College Park, and speaks French and Korean, according to the White House.

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N. Korea conducts ‘important’ spy satellite test

An "important final-stage" test is conducted at Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, Cholsan, North Pyongan Province, for the development of a reconnaissance satellite on Dec. 18, 2022.(Yonhap/IANS)

The NADA announced that it would finish the preparations for the spy satellite by April 2023…reports Asian Lite News

North Korea conducted a “final-stage test,” on Sunday, for the development of a spy satellite, the first military reconnaissance satellite, according to Korean Central News Agency.

The spokesperson for the National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) said that the test was conducted primarily for evaluating the capabilities of satellite photography and data transmission system and ground control system. This test also verified photography control command and attitude control command for various kinds of cameras in the optimum environment simulating space environment after the high-angle launch of a test-piece satellite into the altitude of 500km with one panchromatic camera for 20m resolution test, two multispectral cameras, video transmitter and transmitters and receivers of several bands, control devices, and batteries, the spokesperson said.

The test confirmed the important technical indices including the technology of camera operation in the space environment, data processing and transmission capability of communication devices, and the tracking and controlling the accuracy of the ground control system, according to KCNA.

The NADA announced that it would finish the preparations for the spy satellite by April 2023.

This statement came after South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that it had detected the launches from the Tongchang-RI area, North Pyongan Province between 11:13 am and 12:05 pm (local time).

According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missiles were fired at steep angles and flew around 500 kilometers. The JCS said that the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States have been carrying out an analysis for other details with regard to North Korea’s recent missile activities.

Pyongyang’s latest missile launch comes a month after it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) believed to be capable of reaching the whole of the continental US, according to Yonhap news agency.

Earlier on Thursday, North Korea carried out an “important test” on a “high-thrust solid-fuel” motor to create “another new-type strategic weapon system,” Yonhap news agency cited Korean Central News Agency.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff condemned North Korea’s missile launches and called it an “act of significant provocation” that undermines peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and the international community, as per the Yonhap news agency report. It stressed that the action was a “clear” breach of the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff underscored that Seoul will continue to maintain a readiness posture depending on its capabilities to respond “overwhelmingly” to any provocations by Pyongyang. South Korea’s JCS called on North Korea to stop carrying out such actions.

“We strongly condemned them and urge the North to immediately stop them,” Yonhap news agency quoted South Korea’s JCS as saying in the message.

In November, North Korea launched a ballistic missile, the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. Pyongyang fired what seemed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) eastward Friday, Yonhap news agency reported citing a defense source.

Japanese Prime Minister’s Office tweeted, “[Emergency alert] North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile. More updates to follow.” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) earlier announced that North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile. (ANI)

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US To Open Space Force Command in South Korea

X-37B orbital test vehicle concludes sixth successful mission. (Photo United States Space Force)

The envisioned component command in South Korea is expected to be the second US space command headquarters to be launched outside the US mainland after the first one established under the Indo-Pacific Command based in Hawaii earlier this month, reports Asian Lite News

The US Forces Korea (USFK) will host a component command of the US Space Force (USSF), likely the second regional space command to be established by the US outside of its mainland, amid growing missile threats from North Korea, sources here said Saturday.

The US Department of Defence plans to open a component command of the Space Force under the wing of the USFK, and the USSF is scheduled to integrate the body into its organisational structure by the end of this year, according to multiple high-level government sources, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The envisioned component command in South Korea is expected to be the second US space command headquarters to be launched outside the US mainland after the first one established under the Indo-Pacific Command based in Hawaii earlier this month.

The launch is expected to enable the USFK to detect and trace aerial vehicles flying into the exosphere at a time when North Korea is believed to possess the capacity to launch nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles into the US mainland.

X-37B orbital test vehicle concludes sixth successful mission. (Photo United States Space Force)

The sources predicted that the new USFK body will be smaller than the space component command in Hawaii, which has about 20 personnel.

Once installed, the new component command will link up with the US Space Force and the US Space Forces Indo-Pacific through the military networking system, known as C4i, to share real-time information concerning North Korea’s nuclear and missile activities.

The US is also said to be on course to establish an additional space component command under the Central Command in charge of the Middle East by the end of 2022.

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North Korea calls Guterres ‘puppet of US’  

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the media at the launch of a report by Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance over the Ukraine crisis, at the UN headquarters in New York, April 13, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie E/IANS)

Choe accused Guterres of overlooking the U.S. and its allies taking the North’s ICBM test to the U.N. Security Council, saying that “This clearly proves that he is a puppet of the U.S.”…reports Asian Lite News

North Korea’s Foreign Minister called U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “a puppet of the United States” as she slammed the U.N. chief for joining U.S.-led condemnation of the North’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile test.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier issued a statement strongly condemning North Korea’s ICBM launch on Friday and reiterating his call on the North to “to immediately desist from taking any further provocative actions.” Guterres’s statement came after the United States and other countries issued similar criticism of the North’s ICBM test that showed an potential to strike anywhere in the continental U.S.

“I often take the U.N. secretary-general for a member of the U.S. White House or its State Department,” North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said in a statement carried by state media. “I express my strong regret over the fact that the U.N. secretary-general has taken a very deplorable attitude, oblivious of the purpose and principles of the U.N. Charter and its proper mission which is to maintain impartiality, objectivity and equity in all matters.”

Choe accused Guterres of overlooking the U.S. and its allies taking the North’s ICBM test to the U.N. Security Council, saying that “This clearly proves that he is a puppet of the U.S.”

Seoul :This photo, provided by the Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 10, 2022, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un talking to military officials during his inspection of major drills.(Yonhap/IANS)

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting for Monday morning on North Korea’s ICBM launch at Japan’s request. But it’s unclear if it can impose new economic sanctions on North Korea because China and Russia, two of the council’s veto-wielding members, have opposed the previous U.S. and its allies’ moves to toughen sanctions on the North over its banned tests of ballistic missiles earlier this year.

On Sunday, top diplomats from the world’s major industrialized democracies issued a joint statement calling for strong steps by the U.N. Security Council in reaction to the North Korean missile launch. “(North Korea’s) actions demand a united and robust response by the international community, including the need for further significant measures to be taken by the U.N. Security Council,” said the statement by foreign ministers from the Group of Seven nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Friday’s ICBM launch was the latest in North Korea’s ongoing torrid run of missile tests that experts say are meant to boost its nuclear capability and increase its leverage in future diplomacy.

North Korea said leader Kim Jong Un observed Friday’s launch of its Hwasong-17 missile and called it another “reliable and maximum-capacity” weapon to contain U.S. military threats. Some experts say the Hwasong-17 is still under development but it’s the North’s longest-range missile and is designed to carry several nuclear warheads to overcome U.S. missile defense systems.

North Korea has argued its testing activities are a warning to the United States and South Korea over their series of military drills that the North believes were an invasion rehearsal. Washington and Seoul have maintained their exercises are defensive in nature.

In her statement Monday, Choe again defended her country’s missile tests, calling them “legitimate and just exercise of the right to self-defense” against “provocative nuclear war rehearsals” by the United States and its allies. She said it’s “most amazing and deplorable to me” as Guterres still blamed North Korea for a recent flare-up in tensions on the Korean Peninsula, not the United States.

A day before her country’s ICBM test, Choe threatened to threatened to launch “fiercer” military responses to steps by the U.S. to bolster its security commitment to South Korea and Japan.

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Kim oversees ICBM test, vows nuclear response to threats

Seoul :North Korean leader Kim Jong-un takes a look at a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on a Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) ahead of its launch at Pyongyang International Airport, in this photo released by the country's state media.(Yonhap/IANS)

The missile, launched on Friday from Pyongyang International Airport, flew 999.2 km for 4,135 seconds at an apogee of 6,040.9 km and landed in the international waters of the East Sea

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared a resolute nuclear response to threats by the US during an on-site inspection of the country’s test-firing of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) earlier this week, Pyongyang’s state media said on Saturday.

The missile, launched on Friday from Pyongyang International Airport, flew 999.2 km for 4,135 seconds at an apogee of 6,040.9 km and landed in the international waters of the East Sea, Yonhap News Agency quoted the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) as saying.

“The test-fire clearly proved the reliability of the new major strategic weapon system to be representative of the DPRK’s strategic forces and its powerful combat performance as the strongest strategic weapon in the world,” the KCNA said in its report.

The DPRK is the acronym for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

It stressed that the firing was carried out under the “intolerable condition” that the “reckless military confrontational moves of the US and other hostile forces” driving regional security to the “red line” have gone beyond the limit.

It was referring to large-scale combined military drills recently staged by South Korea with some of key US strategic assets mobilised.

On November 3, the North had test-fired the same ICBM, but the launch was seen as a failure.

The launch came a day after North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui warned her country will take “fiercer” military actions if the US strengthens its security commitment to using a full range of military capabilities, including nuclear options, to defend the allies.

Shortly after Choe’s statement, the North launched a short-range ballistic missile into the East Sea.

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