North Korea test-fires multiple ballistic missiles as APEC summit nears

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics

North Korea fired multiple, short-range ballistic missiles in its first launches in months, South Korea’s military says, as experts warn that more could be expected as Seoul prepares to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

The launch of missiles on Wednesday morning comes a week before Chinese President Xi Jinping, United States President Donald Trump, and other world leaders gather in the South Korean city of Gyeongju for the APEC summit.

South Korea’s military said it “detected several projectiles, believed to be short-range ballistic missiles” fired in the direction of the East Sea, which is also known as the Sea of Japan, the official South Korean Yonhap news agency reported earlier.

South Korea’s military later said the missiles flew approximately 350km (217 miles) and appeared to have fallen inland, reversing earlier speculation that they might have landed in the sea.

“Our military has stepped up monitoring in preparation for [the possibility of] additional launches and is maintaining a steadfast readiness posture while sharing relevant information with the US and Japan,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, according to Yonhap.

North Korea last fired short-range ballistic and cruise missiles towards the East Sea five months ago, on May 8 and May 22, meaning the latest launch is the first under South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae Myung, who took office in June, Yonhap said.

Experts had warned that North Korea could launch provocative missile tests before or during the APEC summit to underscore its commitment to being recognised as a nuclear-armed state, The Associated Press news agency reports.

Park Won-gon, a professor at Seoul’s Ewha Womans University, told the AFP news agency that the missile launch, so close to the APEC summit, appeared to be the North’s leader “asserting his regime’s presence during an event hosted by Seoul, as he’s done before”.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier this month displayed a new long-range Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile, described as the country’s “most powerful”, during a huge military parade in Pyongyang, with top Chinese, Russian and other leaders in attendance.