Seoul, Sept. 21: North Korea has yet to publicly acknowledge two short-range ballistic missile launches carried out a day earlier, breaking with its customary practice of reporting weapons tests through state media the following day as Pyongyang steps up criticism of US-led military exercises in the region.
The Korean Central News Agency had made no mention of Sunday’s launches early Monday. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired the two missiles from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea about three hours apart.
The first launch took place at around 3 p.m. and covered approximately 450 km, while the second was detected at about 5:50 p.m. and travelled more than 600 km, according to the JCS.
North Korea has generally used its state media to announce missile tests the following day, particularly when leader Kim Jong-un has overseen them. That pattern, however, has become less consistent in recent months. Three launches in August went unreported, while a missile launch on September 12 was reported only two days later.
The latest launches occurred ahead of the United Nations General Assembly’s high-level general debate, scheduled to begin Tuesday in US time, and a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on Thursday.
The launches have been viewed as a signal to the Trump administration that Pyongyang does not intend to scale back its military buildup, according to the report.
The weapons tests also followed remarks by Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who two days earlier condemned the US-led multinational Pacific Vanguard maritime drills and warned that North Korea would respond either proportionately or more forcefully.
Pyongyang has increasingly criticised major military exercises involving South Korea, the United States and Japan. The September 12 missile activity, for instance, followed the conclusion of a trilateral exercise involving the three countries.
The latest launches mark another instance in which North Korea has conducted weapons tests without immediately providing its own account through state media. South Korea, the United States and Japan have continued monitoring developments surrounding Pyongyang’s missile activity and military posture.
