Friday, 29 Mar, 2024

International

North Korea fires railway-borne missiles as US tension rises

International Desk | banglanews24.com
Update: 2022-01-15 13:24:46
North Korea fires railway-borne missiles as US tension rises [photo collected]

North Korea confirmed on Saturday it test-launched ballistic missiles from a train in what was seen as an apparent retaliation against new sanctions imposed by the United States.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the drill was aimed at “checking and judging the proficiency in the action procedures” of the missile, adding the two guided missiles hit a set target in the East Sea.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted its military as saying the latest projectiles flew around 430km (267 miles) at an altitude of 36km (22 miles) and a top speed of Mach 6 (7,350 kilometres per hour), six times the speed of sound.

The report by the North Korean state media came a day after South Korea’s military said on Friday it detected the firing of two missiles into the sea by its neighbour country in what became the third weapons launch this month.

The test came hours after Pyongyang’s foreign ministry issued a statement berating the US for imposing new sanctions over the North’s previous tests and warned of stronger and more explicit action if Washington maintains its “confrontational stance”.

North Korea, in recent months, has been ramping up tests of new missiles designed to overwhelm missile defences in the region amid pandemic-related border closures and a freeze in nuclear diplomacy with the US.

Some experts say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is going back to a tried-and-true technique of pressuring neighbouring countries and the US with missile launches and outrageous threats before offering negotiations meant to extract concessions.

KCNA said Friday’s exercise was aimed at checking the alert posture of its army’s rail-borne missile regiment.

The troops swiftly moved to the launch site after receiving the missile-test order on short notice and fired two “tactical guided” missiles that accurately struck a sea target, the report said.

North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper published photos of what appeared to be two different missiles soaring above from rail cars engulfed in smoke.

Cheong Seong-chang, an analyst at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea, said North Korea likely staged a launch that hadn’t been previously planned to demonstrate its opposition to US sanctions.

Source: Al Jazeera 

BDST: 1323 HRS, JAN 11, 2022
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