North Korea has fired several cruise missiles towards its western sea in protest of the docking of a U.S. nuclear-armed submarine in South Korea. This is the second launch event this week. The exact number of missiles fired and their distance is still being analyzed by the U.S. and South Korean militaries. Notably, this comes as North Korea remains silent about the fate of an American soldier who crossed the heavily armed Korean border into North Korea.
In addition to these missile launches, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles near Pyongyang. The missiles flew approximately 550 kilometers before landing in waters east of the Korean Peninsula. This flight distance closely matches the distance between Pyongyang and Busan, the South Korean port city where the U.S. nuclear-armed submarine, USS Kentucky, made its first visit since the 1980s.
As tensions continue to rise, the United States and South Korea have been ramping up their combined military exercises and increasing the deployment of strategic assets like bombers, aircraft carriers, and submarines in the region. The allies are also engaging in nuclear contingency planning meetings to address the growing nuclear threat from North Korea.
The North Korean defense minister issued a veiled threat, suggesting that the docking of the Kentucky in South Korea could be grounds for a nuclear attack. South Korea’s Defense Ministry, on the other hand, described the U.S. deployment and the planning meetings as defensive response measures against the North Korean threat.
The situation on the Korean Peninsula remains tense, with North Korea’s missile launches and its silence about the American soldier adding to the mounting concerns.
Link to original article: North Korea Launches Cruise Missiles, Refuses to Comment on American Soldier Who Crossed Border
