Early on Thursday morning, North Korea launched a rocket from the capital, Pyongyang. The missile landed 20 miles east of the Japanese island of Hokkaido – around 1,000 kilometers from where he was launched. – It was the longest flying missile North Korea has launched so far, with a flight time of 26 minutes, said Japan’s Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, according to Reuters. The North Korean news agency KCNA refers to the rocket as “the country’s most powerful ballistic missile”. The North Korean TV channel KCNA published this image on Thursday morning of the test launch of what will be North Korea’s most powerful missile. Photo: STR / AFP Shin Seung-ki, head of research on North Korea’s military at the Korean Institute for Defense Analysis, tells Reuters that North Korea may have received help from Russia for the launch. Researcher Stein Tønnesson at the Institute for Peace Research (Prio) believes the same. – It is a great prestige for North Korea to be able to contribute to Russia’s warfare, and in return they receive important rocket technology, he says, and adds: – We probably saw that help this morning. Prio researcher Stein Tønnesson believes there are several reasons for North Korea’s missile launch on Thursday morning. Photo: Philip Lote / news In June, Russia and North Korea entered into an agreement on close military cooperation and to defend each other against attack. In October, North Korean soldiers are said to have been sent to Russia to take part in the war against Ukraine, according to South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence. Message to the USA and South Korea Tønnessen believes that the launch was a message to the USA, as well as South Korea. – If the missile had been set on a lower course, it would have had the ability to cross the Pacific Ocean and hit the United States. Halvor Kippe, a nuclear researcher at the Norwegian Defense Research Institute (FFI), also says that North Korea may be in danger of hitting American cities with the missiles they have. Photo: Norwegian Defense Research Institute – North Korea has a wide range of other types of ballistic missile and cruise missile that can threaten regional targets, primarily in South Korea and Japan, but the missile in last night’s test has the US as an external target, he says, adding : – The purpose is to threaten the USA with retaliating against American cities if the USA interferes in a conflict on the Korean peninsula. They will weaken the USA’s will to stand on South Korea’s side in a military conflict. Since 2022, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has increased the pace of testing missiles that can be equipped with nuclear warheads. The picture is from an artillery exercise in March this year. Photo: ”’N’ʐM” / AP North Korea and South Korea are technically still at war with each other, and relations between the two countries have soured sharply in recent months. – Both parties have made it clear that they have no faith in reunification, and I fear that we will see more such incidents between north and south in the future. There is little doubt that North Korea will persist in this way, says Tønessen. Unrest over cooperation agreement The launch took place a few hours after the US and South Korea asked North Korea to bring home soldiers from Russia. Around 10,000 North Korean soldiers will be in Russia, both NATO and the Pentagon have confirmed. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet outside Pyongyang in June. During the visit, they entered into an agreement on close military cooperation. Photo: Gavriil Grigorov / AP In the UN Security Council last night, several expressed concern that these will be used in the war against Ukraine. – Disinformation, was the response of Russia’s UN ambassador, Vasilij Nebenzia. He denied that North Korean soldiers have been deployed on the front line in Ukraine, but emphasized that Russia is allowed to seek help from its North Korean allies. – It is “our business”, Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said. Names three generals In a statement to the Security Council, the Ukrainian government named three of 500 North Korean generals who they believe are in Russia now. Colonel Kim Yong Bok, Colonel Ri Chang Ho and Major General Sin Kum Cheol are to be among the generals who have been sent to Russia, along with thousands of North Korean soldiers, according to Ukraine. Published 31.10.2024, at 12.53
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Has launched its longest-range rocket so far – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
