South Korea’s military announced on Wednesday (October 22) that North Korea had launched several suspected short-range ballistic missiles that morning, marking the first such launch in five months. The timing of this launch, just a week before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, has raised regional security concerns.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that the missiles were fired in a northeasterly direction from near Pyongyang, falling into the Sea of Japan (referred to as the “East Sea” in South Korea). South Korea is sharing relevant information with the United States and Japan.
Japan’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Sanae Takai, mentioned that this launch did not have a direct impact on Japan’s security, but Tokyo is maintaining real-time communication with Washington.
This is North Korea’s first ballistic missile launch since May 8 of this year. At that time, Pyongyang had launched multiple short-range missiles in a simulated “nuclear counterattack exercise” against US and South Korean military actions.
The launch coincides with the upcoming APEC leadership summit in South Korea, where US President Trump and Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping are scheduled to attend. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung plans to hold bilateral talks with Trump and other world leaders during the summit.
Although the missiles landed in the sea without causing actual harm to neighboring countries, this launch undoubtedly adds uncertainty to the regional situation at the sensitive moment before the Asia-Pacific summit.
Since taking office in June, Lee Jae Myung has pledged to promote the peace process on the peninsula, making this missile test the first major security challenge he has faced during his tenure.
The South Korean government has not yet issued an official statement on the matter, but its consistent stance is to coordinate with allies such as the US and Japan, urging North Korea to return to denuclearization negotiations to promote peace and stability on the peninsula.
Military experts believe that Pyongyang’s move may aim to demonstrate its nuclear capabilities, thereby seeking more diplomatic leverage in future negotiations, including pressuring the UN to ease economic sanctions on North Korea.
In recent years, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has accelerated weapon testing. Since the breakdown of the “nuclear diplomacy” with Trump in 2019, he has repeatedly emphasized strengthening nuclear deterrence.
On October 10 of this year, Kim Jong-un held a military parade in Pyongyang to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party, publicly displaying the new “Hwasong-20” intercontinental ballistic missile and declaring it as the “strongest nuclear strategic weapon system.”
(This article references reports from the Associated Press and Reuters)