State Department spokesman Ned Price answered a question on North Korea diplomacy today, and his answer unwittingly demonstrated the folly of the U.S. approach:
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North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday just hours before the leaders of South Korea and Japan were to meet at a Tokyo summit expected to be overshadowed by North Korean nuclear threats.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Japan on Thursday as Tokyo and Seoul seek to thaw relations, an initiative backed by the US as it seeks to rally its allies in the region against China.
According to Nikkei Asia, the two leaders agreed to bolster cooperation against North Korea and to resume a working-level bilateral security dialogue that has been on a five-year hiatus.
A team of defence scientists in Beijing says it has simulated an intercontinental ballistic missile attack against the United States mainland by North Korea.
The North Korean missile could hit the central US in 1,997 seconds, or about 33 minutes, if the US missile defence network failed to intercept it, according to the simulation.
North Korea launched a pair of "strategic cruise missiles" from a submarine in the waters off its east coast, state media reported Monday, in an apparent warning as the United States and South Korea kicked off their largest joint military drills in five years.
The missiles were fired from the "8.24 Yongung" submarine Sunday morning, state-run Korean Central News Agency reported. They flew in figure-eight patterns for over two hours and covered a distance of roughly 930 miles before hitting a target in the sea.
South Korea should develop and build nuclear weapons as a means to defend itself from the growing nuclear threat from North Korea, the mayor of Seoul, Oh Se-hoon, said in an exclusive interview with Reuters published on Monday.
North Korea launched two missiles from a submarine in waters off its east coast over the weekend, according to state media, and vowed to take “the toughest counteraction” against the largest joint military drills by the United States and South Korea in years that kick off Monday.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday denouncing recent joint air drills between Washington and Seoul, South Korea. In that statement, the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) said this was a “catastrophic escalation” and the chances of a nuclear war are now “realistic.”
The situation on the Korean Peninsula seems to be deteriorating. In 2022, North Korea launched a record number of missile tests, aiming to demonstrate its capabilities in delivering conventional or nuclear payloads to more distant targets, potentially including the US mainland.
North Korea fired off at least six short-range missiles on Thursday afternoon in what could be the opening salvo in weeks of military displays on both sides of the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, analysts said.
Photos released by state-run media on Friday showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending the Hwasong artillery unit’s fire drill on the western front, along with his daughter and military officials.
Kim’s daughter, who’s believed to be called Ju Ae, has recently appeared at major events held in North Korea next to her father.