(Bloomberg) -- The US and South Korea conducted joint air drills in a show of force after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that flew longer than any previous one tested by Kim Jong Un’s regime, adding to the tensions over its dispatch of troops to Russia.
Hours after North Korea’s missile launch, South Korea’s defense ministry said it conducted joint air drills with the US that involved some 110 military planes, including American fighter jets such as the F-35B, and the MQ-9 military drone. The US also criticized the launch for needlessly raising tensions, adding that it didn’t pose an immediate threat to American personnel, territory or its allies.
“We don’t see any indication at this point that there was Russian involvement” in the North Korean missile launch, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday in Washington. The US and its allies will continue to analyze the launch, he said, calling on North Korea “to cease and desist.”
The missile was fired at a lofted angle from an area near the capital Pyongyang early Thursday, flying some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) into waters off its east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. It was in the air for some 86 minutes, the longest flight recorded for a missile fired by North Korea, Japanese Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani told reporters.
North Korea’s first ICBM launch this year came shortly after it began dispatching soldiers to assist Russia with its war in Ukraine, prompting officials in the US and South Korea to warn of a potential escalation in the two-and-a-half year conflict. North Korea’s state media confirmed the launch, which serves as a reminder of the nation’s threat to the US mainland, and said it would continue to strengthen its forces.
North Korea has a habit of taking provocative actions, including conducting tests of ballistic missiles and nuclear devices, to coincide with US elections. Kim is seeking to miniaturize warheads for strikes in the region and increase the power of warheads for an ICBM, which — if it works successfully — would give him the capability of hitting the US with a nuclear weapon.
Thursday’s launch appears to have involved a new solid-fuel ICBM, South Korea’s military said. Such missiles have propellants baked into rockets that allow them to be rolled out and fired in minutes, giving the US less time to prepare for interception. The challenge becomes even greater if the missile carries several warheads rather than one.
“Longer flight time means longer flight range,” said Yang Uk, a research fellow at the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies. “The missile can carry larger, or more, payloads if it’s eyeing the same target.”
Still, it’s unclear whether the country’s ICBMs could avoid anti-missile systems deployed in the US. It’s also unknown if Pyongyang’s weapons are refined enough to strike their intended targets, or whether the warheads could survive reentry into the atmosphere.
The US and its allies have sought to discourage Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim from deploying North Korean soldiers to the front lines of the war in Ukraine.
Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday in a joint news conference with their visiting South Korean counterparts that about 8,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, where they are expected to engage in what Blinken called “front-line operations” soon. The North Koreans’ entry into combat would render them “legitimate military targets” for Ukrainian forces, both secretaries said.
In return for sending troops, there’s a “high chance” that North Korea will seek cutting-edge technology transfers from Russia — including technology related to tactical nuclear weapons, ICBMs, reconnaissance satellites and ballistic missile submarines, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun had said Wednesday.
Asked whether South Korea will now provide offensive weapons to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said via interpreter Thursday that the government will weigh “the level of involvement” of the North Korean forces forces in Russia and “what kind of quid pro quo” Kim’s regime will receive from Putin.
--With assistance from Emily Yamamoto, Ryotaro Nakamaru, Seyoon Kim, Shinhye Kang, Brian Fowler, Jon Herskovitz and Courtney McBride.
(Updates with US and South Korean comments starting in third paragraph)
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