SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea test-fired a pair of ballistic missiles Thursday — just after the U.S. and South Korean militaries conducted massive live-fire drills that were personally witnessed by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
In other words: A noisy, but hardly untypical, day on the tense, divided Korean peninsula.
South Korean and American forces Thursday wrapped up the fifth and final round of their annual spring military drills, which are being reported here as the largest series in six years. Former President Trump suspended the annual exercises in 2018 as he pursued an unsuccessful denuclearization deal with Pyongyang.
The Biden administration has resumed the drills in earnest, and Thursday’s live-fire exercise was reportedly the largest ever.
According to Mr. Yoon’s office, more than 610 South Korean and U.S. salvos hit targets at a firing range in Pocheon, 15.5 miles south of the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea. Some 2,500 troops took part, along with U.S. F16 jet fighters and Grey Eagle drones and South Korean F35s stealth jets and K9 155mm self-propelled artillery pieces.
South Korean media photos showed Mr. Yoon personally observing the exercises — which simulated the “annihilation” of a North Korean attack — through binoculars, with U.S. South Korean commander General Paul LaCamera and South Korean Defense Secretary Lee Jong-sup among those in attendance.
But North Korea had the last word.
Top South Korean military officials told the Yonhap news agency that launches of short-range intercontinental ballistic missiles from the North were detected at 12 minutes apart Thursday evening local time. Both reportedly splashed in the Sea of Japan.
The conservative Mr. Yoon took office last May, replacing liberal President Moon Jae-in, whose key policies included engaging with North Korea. Mr. Yoon has instead moved to deepen ties with Washington, repairing relations with Tokyo and robustly facing off against Beijing and Pyongyang.
Analysts say the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has multiple motivations behind the latest test, including displaying the strength of its country’s deterrent capabilities to adversaries and the regime’s citizens. Mr. Kim has repeatedly ignored offers by the Biden administration to resume direct diplomacy to ease tensions in the region.
But the North Korean Defense Ministry said Thursday that the U.S. and South Korea should expect the “inevitable” response in light of this week’s drills.
“Our army strongly denounces the provocative and irresponsible moves of the puppet military authorities escalating the military tension in the region,” the ministry said in a statement reported by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
Thursday’s tit-for-tat is hardly unusual, but in the wake of a failed May 31 North Korean satellite launch and a nasty diplomatic spat between China and South Korea, the latest missile tests further roil already stormy regional waters.
South Korea and China have both deployed naval vessels to the southern area of the Yellow Sea to retrieve parts of a North Korean rocket and its reconnaissance satellite payload after the May 31 crash. With the war in Ukraine showcasing the value of network-controlled guided weapons, analysts say North Korea is feeling growing pressure to get a spy satellite into orbit.
Meanwhile, the Yoon government has responded angrily to statements made last week by Beijing’s ambassador to South Korea criticizing, among other things, the Seoul government’s tilt toward Washington.
South Korea summoned the Chinese envoy to complain about his remarks, which were made to a leading opposition politician, while the Chinese government said the envoy was only doing his job.
• Andrew Salmon can be reached at asalmon@washingtontimes.com.
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