Amid escalating tensions… North Korea launches cruise missiles into the sea
North Korea launched “a number of cruise missiles” towards the Yellow Sea between China and the Korean peninsula, Yonhap news agency reported on Saturday, citing South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The launch occurred at 4:00 local time, according to Yonhap, and comes just three days after North Korea launched two ballistic missiles amid heightened tensions on the peninsula.
The launch also comes at a time when a US soldier is believed to have been detained in Pyongyang after entering North Korea during a tour of the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas.
On Friday, Seoul warned Pyongyang that the use of its nuclear weapons would mean the “end” of Kim Jong Un’s regime, after North Korea threatened a nuclear response to the increasing US military deployment on the peninsula.
deterioration of relations
Relations deteriorated to the lowest levels between the two Koreas, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for promoting the development of weapons, including tactical nuclear weapons, while Seoul and Washington intensified their defense cooperation and conducted joint military exercises.
North Korea adopted a broad nuclear law last year that defines a range of scenarios in which it could use its nuclear weapons under threat, including pre-emptive strikes.
Kim Jong Un announced his new nuclear law last year, stressing that the country’s status as a nuclear power is “irreversible”, effectively eliminating the possibility of talks on denuclearization.
The nuclear law is vague and confirms that Pyongyang can use its nuclear weapons if it believes that “an attack with nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction … is imminent.”
Analysts said this could be used to justify a possible use by North Korea of a nuclear weapon, even in the face of conventional attacks.
