In a display of apparent protest over the arrival of a nuclear-armed United States submarine at a South Korean port, North Korea fired several cruise missiles towards the sea to the west of the Korean Peninsula, as confirmed by South Korea’s military. This marks the second missile launch in response to the presence of the USS Kentucky, a US nuclear-armed submarine, at the port.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the missile launches were detected at around 4 am local time on Saturday, with surveillance and vigilance being heightened by South Korea’s military. The country is closely cooperating with the United States while maintaining a firm readiness posture, as reported by South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
Just three days earlier, North Korea had fired two short-range ballistic missiles from an area near its capital, Pyongyang, which landed in waters east of the Korean Peninsula, approximately 550km (341 miles) away. The flight distance of the missiles launched on Saturday has not been immediately disclosed by the JCS.
The launches come as tensions continue to escalate, leading to heightened defence cooperation between Seoul and Washington. The US and South Korea are conducting joint military exercises involving advanced stealth jets, along with engaging in new rounds of nuclear contingency planning meetings.
North Korea’s defence minister, Kang Sun-nam, issued a veiled threat, suggesting that the docking of the USS Kentucky in South Korea might be seen as grounds for a nuclear attack by the North. He referred to the Ohio-class submarine’s deployment as possibly falling under conditions specified in North Korea’s law on nuclear force policy.
In response to North Korea’s veiled threat and missile launches, South Korea’s defence ministry labelled the deployment of the USS Kentucky and the nuclear contingency planning meetings as “defensive response measures” to counter the North Korean threat. Furthermore, South Korea emphasised that any use of nuclear weapons by North Korea would prompt an “immediate and decisive response,” potentially leading to the end of Kim Jong Un’s regime.
