After North Korea’s ballistic missile launch, a new emergency meeting of Apec

It is not yet 11 a.m. in Seoul on Friday, November 18, when the South Korean General Staff “detects a long-range ballistic missile headed for the East Sea“. A short time later, the projectile hit the bottom of the Japanese sea off the northern island of Hokkaido, once again crossing their EEZ (the exclusive economic zone is an area extending up to 200 nautical miles, or 370 kilometers from the coast, over which only a sovereign State exercises economic and military rights).

The authorities quickly recognized the responsibility of their North Korean neighbor. The missile was launched from Pyongyang’s Sunan district around 10:15. According to Tokyo, the missile traveled about 1000 km, and the Japanese forces did not try to destroy it during the flight. Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada noted that the projectile reached a maximum altitude of 6,000 km and concluded that it therefore “An ICBM-class ballistic missile, although further details are being analyzed“. According to the Japanese executive, no damage to ships or aircraft has been reported at this time.

As Seoul and Washington anticipate an imminent nuclear test from Pyongyang, this latest episode in a record series of missile launches in recent weeks has reignited tensions in the region.

“Absolutely unacceptable”

This is not the first time a North Korean projectile has landed in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). North Korea”repeats provocations with unprecedented frequency. We strongly reiterate that this is absolutely unacceptablePrime Minister Kisida condemned. North Korea had already launched an ICBM on November 3, but that launch apparently failed, according to Seoul and Tokyo. Last March, the country violated a moratorium it had imposed in 2017 on the launch of this type of long-range missile.

North Korea had already fired a short-range ballistic missile on Thursday, hours after a warning from its foreign minister, who vowed to respond.furiouslystrengthen the security alliance between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington. The United States, South Korea and Japan have stepped up joint military exercises in recent months in the face of threats from North Korea, which sees the exercises as disguised attempts by Kim Jong-un to invade his territory or topple his regime.

In a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden tried to persuade his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to mediate with North Korea to end escalation and abandon a nuclear test as Washington and Seoul lend him a hand. intention “This launch is a flagrant violation of many UN Security Council resolutions and risks unnecessary tension and destabilization of the security situation in the region.“, the American spokesperson of the National Security Council, Adrienne Watson, condemned.

On Sunday, the US president, his South Korean counterpart Yun Suk-yeol and the Japanese prime minister also promised a response.strong and sturdyif Pyongyang carries out this test, which would be the first since 2017 and the seventh in its history. “Japan, the United States and South Korea must work closely together to work toward the complete denuclearization of North Korea.”– added Fumio Kishida from Bangkok, where he is participating in the Asian Summit. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui responded that the strengthening of the military alliance between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington “Bringing the situation on the Korean peninsula to an unpredictable stage“.

urgent consultation

An emergency meeting is being held this Friday in Bangkok (APEC) within the framework of the Asia-Pacific Summit to find solutions to quickly pacify the region. US Vice President Kamala Harris has a joint meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean Han Dak Su, Australian Anthony Albanese, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern and Canadian Justin Trudeau.

Analysts say North Korea, which is barred from launching ballistic missiles under UN resolutions, has emboldened the possibility of avoiding further UN sanctions because of Security Council divisions where China and Russia block any US attempts to do so.