NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: On Saturday, hours before South Korea held a large military display featuring stealth planes and its missiles, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward the ocean off its east coast.
The fourth missile launch by Pyongyang in a week coincides with a flurry of military exercises by regional powers, including coordinated anti-submarine drills on Friday by the fleets of South Korea, the United States, and Japan.
This week, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol met with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris during her visit to the area. The opposing Koreas are engaged in a regional arms race that has resulted in a significant rise in military budget and weaponry.
Yoon criticised what he called recent military provocations by the North and vowed to intensify joint military exercises with the US on the occasion of South Korea’s 74th Armed Forces Day.
Yoon stated in a broadcast speech that the government will further strengthen the Korea-U.S. joint drills and would react strongly to North Korean provocations and threats by showing them the ‘Alliance in Action.
He and military officials witnessed a significant display of cutting-edge weapons that included, among other things, numerous rocket launchers, ballistic missiles, main battle tanks, drones, and F-35 fighter aircraft.
Attack planes and fighter aeroplanes were displayed by the American military. Yoon was photographed saluting while passing rows of tanks and other armaments while driving a convertible.
He has stated that his nation’s conventional weapons are essential for dissuading the North, and Seoul has also been pursuing more significant arms sales abroad.
The North has been firing short-range missiles with low, erratic trajectories since May 2019, according to a report from Japan’s Defense Ministry. These characteristics are presumably intended for greater warfighting efficacy.
The North has been subject to sanctions by the UN Security Council as a result of its nuclear and ballistic missile tests. Such actions are rejected by Pyongyang as a violation of its sovereign right to space and self-defence.
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