North Korea Continues its Missile Launches to Grab the Attention

North Korea continues to fire missiles to flex its muscles in front of the US and its neighbors, Japan and South Korea. North Korea fired two ballistic missiles making it the seventh launch in recent days. Recently the United Nations criticized Pyongyang’s actions for conducting seven missile launches in 12 days, including an intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan on Tuesday, and an unprecedented 40 launches this year. However, the North Korean State-run KCNA news agency defended its weapon testing by stating that it has neither harmed civil aviation’s safety nor threatened neighboring countries.

As evident by the latest missile launches and drills, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is determined to increase his nuclear arsenal in defiance of international sanctions. Strategically, Pyongyang’s more assertive behavior results from global political instability, which allows it to provoke its neighbors without fear of further sanctions.

Moreover, the war in Ukraine has not only become a distraction for the US but has also opened the door to closer ties between Pyongyang and Moscow. On the other hand, recent CCP’s military activities in the Taiwan Strait have allowed North Korea to capitalize on the mounting tensions between Beijing and Washington.

In response, the South Korean military condemned the launches as a “serious provocation” that undermined peace, pointing out that they violated UN Security Council resolutions. Additionally, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said North Korea’s continued launches were “absolutely intolerable” during a call with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.