North Korea fires off ballistic missiles as top US official Blinken visits Seoul

Analysts say Monday’s ballistic missile test, the North’s second this year, was calculated to grab attention ‘when the top US diplomat is in town’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in South Korea for a democracy summit, condemned Pyongyang’s launch, a spokesman said

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Commuters at a railway station in Seoul watch a broadcast about Monday’s missile launch by North Korea. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 3:30pm, 18 Mar 2024

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Monday in what analysts said was a calculated move to grab attention as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits South Korea for talks.

Blinken is attending the third Summit for Democracy and met President Yoon Suk-yeol in Seoul early on Monday. He is also meeting his South Korean counterpart on the sidelines of the event, for discussions now likely to be dominated by the allies’ efforts to counter threats from the nuclear-armed North.

Washington and Seoul wrapped up one of their major annual joint military training exercises last week, prompting angry retorts and live-fire drills from nuclear-armed Pyongyang, which condemns all such exercises as rehearsals for invasion.

North Korean soldiers take part in training for the air and amphibious combat units of the Korean People’s Army in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency on Saturday. Photo: KCNA via Reuters

Seoul’s military said it had detected the launch of “multiple short-range ballistic missiles” early on Monday, which flew around 300km (186 miles) before coming down into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

“We are closely sharing relevant information with the US and Japan and are maintaining utmost readiness,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff added.

After meeting Yoon, Blinken “condemned the … launch of ballistic missiles by the DPRK and reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to the ROK’s security,” spokesman Matthew Miller said, referring to North and South Korea by their official names.

Japan’s top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said the North had fired three short-range ballistic missiles, which landed outside of the country’s EEZ and did not cause any damage.

The launches come just days after Seoul and Washington’s annual Freedom Shield drills, which this year involved double the number of troops, ended on Thursday.