Again, North Korea Fires Unidentified Projectile Into The East Sea

Illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/John Pavelka)

JAKARTA - North Korea fired an unidentified projectile into the East Sea on Thursday, the South Korean military said, in Pyongyang's sixth launch this year.

The South Korean military's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced the launch in a text message sent to reporters. However, there has been no further explanation regarding this, citing the Korea Times on January 27.

Pyongyang appeared to have test-fired at least two cruise missiles from the hinterland Tuesday, following four reported rounds of weapons tests, including hypersonic missile launches on January 5 and 11.

The recent launch in North Korea comes as the United States has stepped up sanctions pressure amid a protracted stalemate in its nuclear negotiations with the recalcitrant regime.

North Korea said this month it would strengthen its defenses against the United States, considering resuming "all temporarily suspended activities". An obvious reference to a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear weapons and long-range missile tests.

The series of missile tests has drawn criticism from governments in the United States and Japan, prompting a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, which has sanctioned North Korea for violating a resolution banning ballistic missile tests.

In response to the tests, the administration of US President Joe Biden sanctioned several North Korean and Russian individuals and entities this month for allegedly aiding North Korea's weapons program. However, China and Russia delayed US efforts to impose UN sanctions on five North Koreans.

On Wednesday, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Japan and Korea Mark Lambert said Washington "has no objection" to talking to North Korea and is willing to meet anywhere and discuss anything.

"We have to have serious discussions about the denuclearization of North Korea, and if North Korea is willing to do that, all kinds of promising things can happen," he said during a webinar hosted by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

To note, North Korea maintains its missile tests as a sovereign right of self-defense, saying US sanctions prove that even if Washington proposes talks, it maintains a "hostile" policy towards Pyongyang.

North Korea has not launched a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or tested a nuclear weapon since 2017, but began testing a number of short-range missiles after denuclearization talks stalled following a failed summit with the United States in 2019.