July 30, 2019 South Korea on Tuesday said North Korea has fired several unidentified projectiles off its east coast.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launches were done earlier today from North Korea’s Hodo Peninsula in South Hamgyong Province. The South Korean military has been maintaining readiness and is on the alert for further launches.
A U.S. assessment determined North Korea launched at least one short range projectile last week. A U.S. defense official told CNN an initial assessment revealed the launch appears to resemble the May 2019 firing of two short-range missiles, which traveled approximately 260 miles.
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reports last week’s projectile launches were were intended to send a warning to South Korea and had been “personally organized” by the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un.
Earlier in July, photos released of Kim Jong Un touring a factory building and posing with what is believed to be a nuclear capable submarine, probably on the country’s east coast. A close reading of the images confirmed that a U.S. fight with North Korea could mean death for millions in the region, and suicide for Pyongyang, the country’s capital.
North Korea has long sought a submarine capable of firing ballistic missiles, but has struggled to create one while under international sanctions. Ballistic-missile submarines give countries like the U.S. and Russia an incomparable deterrent.
The latest developments come just weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump made history, becoming the first sitting commander in chief to set foot in North Korea as he met Kim Jong Un. The two leaders informally agreed to restart talks on a much anticipated nuclear agreement.