conflict
South Korea: North Korea fires artillery shells again
A South Korean news program shows footage of the North Korean missile launch. photo
© Lee Jin-Man/AP/dpa
North Korea repeatedly provokes with its military maneuvers. Projectiles now landed in the so-called maritime buffer zone. Actually, the UN Security Council should deal with the issue.
North Korea has again fired artillery shells into the waters along the inter-Korean sea border overnight, according to the South Korean military.
About 80 artillery shells were fired from the east coast of North Korea from late Thursday evening (local time), the general staff said on Friday. The projectiles fell into the so-called maritime buffer zone, which was set up in 2018 to reduce tension. North Korea has been accused of violating the joint military agreement.
According to the South Korean military, North Korea had previously fired more than two dozen missiles towards the open sea since Wednesday. Among them was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Thursday.
The UN Security Council is due to address the issue on Friday. UN resolutions prohibit the self-declared nuclear power North Korea from testing ballistic missiles of any range, which, depending on the design, can also carry a nuclear warhead. Despite international criticism, North Korea has been carrying out missile tests at an unusually high frequency since the end of September.
The recent missile tests and artillery drills were also seen as a show of force. North Korea had condemned air force exercises by South Korean and US forces this week as a provocation. In response to the missile tests, the two countries decided to extend the “Vigilant Storm” exercises. The maneuver should now last a day longer and end on Saturday, South Korean broadcasters reported, citing Defense Minister Lee Jong Sup.
Steinmeier calls on North Korea to stop its missile program
During a visit to Seoul, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier sharply condemned North Korea’s latest missile tests and demanded that they be stopped. An unprecedented series of tests has been observed since the beginning of the year, and the rocket salvos of the past few days have made the situation considerably worse, said Steinmeier on Friday after talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. “I’ll say it in no uncertain terms: This escalation is unacceptable and the regime in Pyongyang alone is responsible for it.”
“These tests violate UN Security Council resolutions and endanger international security.” He called on North Korea to “fully implement the decisions of the UN Security Council and to start serious negotiations on the dismantling of its nuclear missile program”.
Germany has great respect for South Korea’s tireless efforts to restart the negotiation process with the aim of denuclearizing North Korea. “Germany is ready to provide support,” Steinmeier assured. “One thing is true: North Korea is and remains committed to the complete, irreversible and verifiable termination of its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.”