North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile During Antony Blinken's Visit To South Korea
North Korea launched a ballistic missile while the top US diplomat Antony Blinken was meeting the key official in Seoul on January 6, 2025.
South Korea’s military official said that North Korea sent ‘unknown’ ballistic missile towards the East Sea, the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.
The launch took place while the US Secretary of State was meeting his counterpart in South Korea and the South’s acting president before he heads to Japan.
Read also: South Korean Authorities Suspend Attempts To Arrest Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol After Standoff
As per the Japanese defence ministry and coast guard statements, the missle appeared to have fallend into the sea.
The ballistic missile launch is Pyongyong’s first this year. Its earlier launch was in Novemeber, when it test fired its most advanced and powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Notably, the two sides also met in November in Seoul and shared concern over North Korea and Russia’s growing proximity.
This was also Kim Jong Un’s first weapons test since sending soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine. The test fire is also first since President-elect Donald Trump won re-election in November.
North Korea also conducted GPS jamming attacks on the South later in November, an operation that affected several ships and dozens of civilian aircraft in the country.
Read also: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol Declares Martial Law: 10 Points
South Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea in a show of force in response to Pyongyang’s salvo of missile launches.
On December 3, the President Yoon Suk Seol announced a short-lived martial law decree which resulted in a political crisis in Seoul for few weeks.
North Korea And Russia
North Korea and Russia have strenghtened their military ties, that has concerned US and its allies, since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
A landmark defence was signed between Pyongyang and Moscow in June last year, came into force last month. Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed it as a ‘breakthrough document’, which obligates both states to provide military assistance without delay in case of attack on the other.
