According to state media, North Korea has fired a newly developed anti-aircraft missile, the second-known test in a week, even as it makes reconciliatory overtures towards South Korea.
The test was conducted on Thursday, two days after the country launched a previously unseen hypersonic missile.
The anti-aircraft missile had a “remarkable combat performance” and encompassed twin rudder controls and other new technologies, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated.
A picture in the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed the missile ascending at an angle into the sky from a launch vehicle.
North Korea continued its missile tests in September following a six-month lull, firing a nuclear-capable cruise missile and afterwards a pair of railway-borne ballistic missiles.
South Korea, Japan and the United States typically reveal North Korean missile tests soon after they are carried out, but they didn’t report Thursday’s incident, proposing it may not be viewed a significant weapons test.
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense told the AFP news agency it was unable to immediately confirm the latest launch.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un seems to have not attended the test, which was overseen by Pak Jong Chon, a member of the ruling Workers’ Party’s powerful Politburo and Central Committee.
“The remarkable combat performance of the new-type anti-aircraft missile with features of rapid responsiveness and guidance accuracy of missile control system as well as the substantial increase in the distance of downing air targets has been verified,” KCNA said, citing the Academy of Defence Science, a military weapons developer.
North Korea has been developing progressively sophisticated weapons saying it wants to boost its defensive capabilities amid a “hostile” United States and South Korea.
Since 2019, Discussions over denuclearization have been stalled and Pyongyang has long used weapons tests to elevate tensions and try to push forward its diplomatic and strategic aims.
Seeking leverage
A few specialists say North Korea is constraining South Korea not to censure its long range rocket tests, which are prohibited by UN Security Council resolutions, as a feature of its quest to achieve international recognition as a nuclear power.
Others say the North wants the South to convince the United States to ease devastating economic sanctions. It likewise needs to draw nearer to South Korean President Moon Jae-in who is keen to secure his legacy before he leaves office one year from now.
On Wednesday, Kim said he had no excuses to assault South Korea and was ready to reopen served inter- Korean hotlines, yet that Washington’s rehashed offers of talks without preconditions were a “petty trick”, blaming the administration for US President Joe Biden of proceeding the “hostile policy” of its predecessors.
Read: North Korea claims testing hypersonic missile
Pyongyang was looking to “highlight their presence on the world stage and their military capabilities”, with its latest action, defector-turned-researcher Ahn Chan-il told AFP.
Moon used his recent address to the United Nations to repeat his calls for a conventional declaration of the end of the Korean War – battle ended in 1953 with a truce rather than a ceasefire.
Ahn said: “They are buying time this way and trying to leverage as much as they can from Seoul’s proposal to declare the official end of the Korean War, as well as Washington’s offer to talk without any preconditions.”
The latest tests have flashed international disapproval, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying they created “greater prospects for instability and insecurity”.
The United States, Britain and France have called a UN Security Council meeting on North Korea, which is set to take place on Friday.
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