North Korea has conducted four test launches of cruise missiles at sea, the country’s official news agency, KCNA, said Thursday, adding that the exercise demonstrated the “war performance” of Pyongyang’s nuclear force.
The four “Hwasal-2” missiles were fired from near the city of Kimchaek in North Hamgyong province towards the Baltic Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. All four missiles hit their target “exactly,” according to KCNA.
The four cruise missile launches come on a day when the European Union (EU) strongly condemned North Korea’s February “illegal launch” of an intercontinental ballistic missile. actions he classifies as reckless.
In a statement released today on behalf of the 27 member states, EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell stressed that these “dangerous and reckless actions are in flagrant violation of UN Security Council resolutions” and urged ” all United Nations member states” to “join the EU and call on Pyongyang to “immediately cease all missile launches and resume dialogue with relevant parties”.
“To encourage a resumption of peaceful diplomacy, it is critical that all UN member states demonstrate their commitment to the full implementation of the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council,” Borrell stated, adding that “ the EU will continue to work with partners to identify the cash flows, expertise and components that North Korea could use to support its illicit weapons program,” the statement read.
The head of European diplomacy emphasizes that “the only viable path to lasting peace and security on the Korean peninsula is through North Korea’s compliance with its obligations under United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
“The international community must act in unison and decisively before North Korea’s actions further undermine the international non-proliferation architecture and exacerbate military tensions in the region,” warned Josep Borrell.
In conclusion, the High Representative expresses “the EU’s total solidarity with Japan and the Republic of Korea” and notes that the community bloc is “ready to work with partners in promoting a meaningful diplomatic process aimed at building peace and security through the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula”.
Last Monday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles less than 48 hours after joint military exercises between Washington and Seoul, and after it had already launched its Hwasong-15 ICBM from the east coast on Friday, in the first test of its kind since Jan. 1 , which crashed into the Sea of Japan.
In response to this launch, the Japanese government, through its Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, condemned an “outrageous” act that “increased provocation against the international community”.
In 2022, North Korea conducted a record number of missile launches, about half a hundred, in many cases in response to joint maneuvers by the two allies and the strengthening of the US strategic presence on the peninsula.
Source: DN
