US threatens military action, North Korea fires ballistic missile in response

North Korea on Thursday fired a short-range ballistic missile towards its eastern seaboard. According to the South Korean military, the missile was fired from the eastern coastal area of ​​Wonsan at 10:48 am, which fell between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

The armies of South Korea, America and Japan condemned it, saying that this step poses a threat to regional stability. South Korea said the move came hours after North Korea threatened to launch tough military action in response to the US’ strong commitment to the security of its allies in the region – South Korea and Japan.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the North Korean missile flew to a distance of 240 km at a maximum altitude of 47 km. He said that the missile firing is a provocation to harm the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula.

The more America helps, the more we will respond

North Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Son Hye said- The more help America offers to its allies and the more they conduct provocative military activities in the Korean Peninsula, the stronger North Korea’s retaliation will be. He warned that this would pose a more serious, realistic and unavoidable threat to the US and the forces at its behest.

In response to Cho’s statement, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the purpose of the trilateral summit was to coordinate a joint response to North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats. Japan’s Defense Ministry said that North Korea’s repeated missile launches are a threat to the peace and security of Japan, the region and the whole world. The US-Pacific Command said the launch highlights the destabilizing effect of North Korea’s illegal subversive weapons and ballistic missile programs.

America-South Korea-Japan conference will increase tension

Prior to the missile launch, North Korean Foreign Minister Cho Son-hye issued a statement warning that the recent summit between the US, South Korea and Japan over Pyongyang’s missile launches would “unexpectedly escalate” the current tensions on the Korean peninsula. North Korea gave a statement regarding the recent trilateral conference held by the US President with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts.

After the conference, the leaders of the three countries issued a joint statement strongly condemning the North Korean missile tests and agreed to work together to strengthen deterrence. In the statement, Biden called for all other military measures, including nuclear weapons. Through this, the US commitment to protect South Korea and Japan was reiterated.