conflicts
South Korean military: North Korea fires missile
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seen on television at Seoul’s train station. photo
© Ahn Young-joon/AP
The US wants to send more strategic weapons systems to the Korean Peninsula. This should also include nuclear-powered submarines with ballistic missiles. Pyongyang is stepping up its threats.
The self-proclaimed nuclear power North Korea has fired another ballistic missile, according to the South Korean military. The missile had flown in the direction of the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, said the general staff in Seoul. No further details were initially given.
UN decisions ban the widely isolated country from any launch of ballistic missiles. Depending on the design, these can be equipped with a nuclear warhead.
North Korea warned the United States on Monday that it would send a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine to South Korea and indirectly threatened to shoot down American reconnaissance planes. The US plans to bring a strategic nuclear submarine with nuclear warheads to the Korean Peninsula, the Defense Ministry said in Pyongyang.
A ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the state-controlled media that this could “practically trigger the worst crisis in a nuclear conflict”. In view of heightened tensions with North Korea, the United States and its ally South Korea agreed in April to strengthen their military cooperation.