North Korea has fired a newly developed anti-aircraft missile, state media said, the second-known test during a week, whilst it makes reconciliatory overtures towards South Korea.
The test happened on Thursday, two days after the country launched a previously unseen hypersonic missile.
The anti-aircraft missile had a “remarkable combat performance” and included twin rudder controls and other new technologies, the official Korean Central press agency (KCNA) said.
A picture within the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed the missile ascending at an angle into the sky from a launch vehicle.
North Korea resumed its missile tests in September after a six-month lull, firing a nuclear-capable aircraft then a pair of railway-borne ballistic missiles.
South Korea, Japan, and therefore the US typically reveal North Korean missile tests soon after they’re administered, but they didn’t report Thursday’s incident, suggesting it’s going to not be considered a big weapons test.
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense told the AFP press agency it had been unable to right away confirm the newest launch.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to possess not attended the test, which was instead overseen by Pak Jong Chon, a member of the ruling Workers’ Party’s powerful Politburo and Central Committee.
“The remarkable combat performance of the new-type anti-aircraft missile with features of rapid responsiveness and guidance accuracy of missile system also because the substantial increase within the distance of downing air targets has been verified,” KCNA said, citing the Academy of Defence Science, a military weapons developer.
North Korea has been developing increasingly sophisticated weapons saying it wants to spice up its defensive capabilities amid a “hostile” us and South Korea.
Talks over denuclearisation are stalled since 2019, and Pyongyang has long used weapons tests to ratchet up tensions and check out to barge its diplomatic and strategic objectives.
Seeking leverage
Some experts say North Korea is pressuring South Korea to not criticize its missile tests, which are banned by UN Security Council resolutions, as a part of its quest to secure international recognition as an atomic power.
Others say the North wants the South to influence the US to ease crippling economic sanctions. It also wants to urge closer to South Korean President Moon Jae-in who is keen to secure his legacy before he leaves office next year.
On Wednesday, Kim said he had no reasons to attack South Korea and was willing to reopen severed inter-Korean hotlines, but that Washington’s repeated offers of talks without preconditions were a “petty trick”, accusing the administration folks President Joe Biden of continuous the “hostile policy” of its predecessors.
With its latest actions, Pyongyang was looking to “highlight their presence on the planet stage and their military capabilities”, defector-turned-researcher Ahn Chan-il told AFP.
Moon used his recent address to the United Nations to reiterate he involves a proper declaration of the top of the Korean War – fighting led to 1953 with an armistice instead of a peace.
Ahn said: “They are buying time this manner and trying to leverage the maximum amount as they will from Seoul’s proposal to declare the official end of the Korean War, also as Washington’s offer to speak with no preconditions.”
The latest tests have sparked international condemnation, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying they created “greater prospects for instability and insecurity”.
The US, Britain, and France have called a UN Security Council meeting on North Korea, which is about to require place on Friday.
