A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea’s missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea on March 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on March 18 morning, its neighbours said, days after the end of the South Korean-U.S. military drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal.

The launches were North Korea’s first known missile testing activities in about a month. Outside experts earlier predicted North Korea would continue its run of missile tests and intensify its warlike rhetoric ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November to boost its leverage in future diplomacy.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a parliamentary session that North Korea fired “a number of” ballistic missiles into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. He said the missiles fell outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone and no damage or injuries has been reported.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said North Korea fired three missiles, two together at 7:44 a.m. and the other about 37 minutes later. They all traveled a distance of 350 kilometers (about 220 miles) at the maximum speed of 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) per hour.

Mr. Kishida denounced North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile tests as acts “that threaten the peace and safety of Japan, the region and the international society.” He said Japan strongly protested against North Korea over its testing activities, saying they violated U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban the North from engaging in any ballistic activities.

South Korea’s military said it also detected “several” suspected short-range ballistic launches by North Korea on March 18 morning. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the South Korean military bolstered its surveillance posture and is closely coordinating with the United States and Japan.

During the South Korea-U.S. military drills that ended on March 14, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided a series of military training exercises involving tanks, artillery guns and paratroopers. The 11-day South Korean-U.S. drills involved a computer-simulated command post training and 48 kinds of field exercises, twice the number conducted last year.

The North didn’t perform any missile tests during its rivals’ training, however. Its missile tests are considered much bigger provocations as North Korea has been pushing hard to mount nuclear warheads on its missiles targeting the U.S. mainland and its allies. Many experts say North Korea already has nuclear-armed missiles capable of reaching all of South Korea and Japan, but it has yet to have functioning long-range missiles that can strike the U.S. mainland.

Before March 18th’s launches, North Korea last carried out missile tests in mid-February by firing cruise missiles into the sea.

Animosities on the Korean Peninsula remain high in the wake of North Korea’s barrage of missile tests since 2022. Many of the tests involved nuclear-capable missiles designed to attack South Korea and the mainland U.S. The U.S. and South Korean forces have responded by expanding their training exercises.

This year, North Korea performed six rounds of missile tests before March 18th’s launch.

Experts say North Korea likely believes a bigger weapons arsenal would increase its leverage in future diplomacy with the United States. They say North Korea would want to win extensive sanctions relief while maintaining its nuclear weapons.

Worries about North Korean military moves have deepened since Mr. Kim vowed in a speech in January to rewrite the constitution to eliminate the country’s long-standing goal of seeking peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula and to cement South Korea as its “invariable principal enemy.” He said the new charter must specify North Korea would annex and subjugate the South if another war broke out.

Observers say North Korea may launch limited provocations along its tense border with South Korea. But they say the prospects for a full-scale attack by North Korea are dim as it would know its military is outmatched by the U.S. and South Korean forces.

U.S. Army Apache helicopters take off at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea on March 4, 2024. North Korea called the ongoing South Korean-U.S. military drills a plot to invade the country, as it threatened to take unspecified “responsible” military steps in response.
| Photo Credit: AP

North Korea called the ongoing South Korean-U.S. military drills a plot to invade the country, as it threatened Tuesday to take unspecified “responsible” military steps in response.

The North’s warning came a day after the South Korean and U.S. forces kicked off their annual computer-simulated command post training and a variety of field exercises for an 11-day run. This year’s drills were to involve 48 field exercises, twice the number conducted last year.

In a statement carried by state media, the North’s Defense Ministry said it “strongly denounces the reckless military drills of the U.S. and (South Korea) for getting more undisguised in their military threat to a sovereign state and attempt for invading it.”

An unidentified ministry spokesperson said North Korea’s military will “continue to watch the adventurist acts of the enemies and conduct responsible military activities to strongly control the unstable security environment on the Korean Peninsula.”

The spokesperson didn’t say what measures North Korea would take, but observers say North Korea will likely carry out missile tests or other steps to bolster its war capability.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said later Tuesday that its drills with the United States is a regular, defensive training. A ministry statement said South Korea will make an overwhelming response if North Korea launches direct provocations against it during the drills.

North Korea views its rivals’ major military drills as invasion rehearsals, though South Korean and U.S. officials have repeatedly said they have no intentions of attacking the North. North Korea has previously reacted to South Korean-U.S. exercises with launches of a barrage of missiles into the sea.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said last week that this year’s military drills with the United States were designed to neutralize North Korean nuclear threats and would involve live-firing, bombing, air assault and missile interception drills.

Concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program have grown in the past two years, as the North has test-launched missiles at a record pace and openly threatened to use nuclear weapons preemptively. The U.S. and South Korea have expanded their military exercises and increased the deployment of powerful U.S. military assets like aircraft carriers and nuclear-capable bombers in response.

This year, North Korea performed six rounds of missile tests and artillery firing drills. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also declared his country won’t seek reconciliation with South Korea and vowed to scrap the country’s long-running goal of peaceful unification with South Korea. Kim said North Korea would take a more aggressive military posture along the disputed sea boundary with South Korea.

Experts say North Korea could believe a bigger weapons arsenal would provide it with a greater leverage in future diplomacy with the United States. They say North Korea is desperate to win an international recognition as a nuclear state, a status that it would think helps it win relief of U.S.-led economic sanctions.

North Korea is expected to further dial up tensions with more missile tests and warlike rhetoric this year as the U.S. and South Korea head into major elections. North Korea may stage limited provocation near the tense border with South Korea this year, experts say.