North Korea Conducts Cruise Missile Test, Its Fifth This Year: Report

South Korea on Tuesday said that it detected two cruise missiles into the sea off North Korea’s east coast in what appeared to be the nation’s fifth missile test of this year, according to news agency Reuters.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the army is assessing the launches to find out the nature of the projectiles. North Korea has tested five missiles since the beginning of the year, sparking fears that Kim Jong Un remains undeterred in his mission to bolster his military with cutting-edge technology and resources.

North Korea tested four other missiles earlier this month as talks remained stalled with US and South Korea. North Korea first tested a hypersonic missile on January 6 and followed it up with another ballistic missile test on January 10. It tested two more hypersonic missiles on January 13 – an exercise overseen by Kim Jong Un himself. The fourth missile test came on January 16 when it tested two short-range ballistic missiles into waters off the coast of Japan.

The nation which is otherwise crippled by sanctions and faces economic crisis has concerned its neighbours and the US with its nuclear ambitions at a time when US is embroiled in a Cold War-like standoff with Russia over the crisis in Ukraine. The spate of missile tests reminded North Korea observers of 2017 when North Korea tested Hwasong-12, Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15 – all intercontinental ballistic missiles and also conducted a thermonuclear weapons test which is the most potent form of nuclear explosion.

Waking Biden Administration

A report by news agency the New York Times said that these moves could indicate that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could be aiming to engage the Biden administration in talks as his country faces crippling sanctions. Lee Sung-yoon, a North Korea expert at the Fletcher School at Tufts University told the New York Times that Kim would continue with routine short-range ballistic missile flights and then move on to resuming intermediate- and long-range missile tests following the same tricks he used in 2017. This is also aimed at forcing Washington to ease sanctions and give concessions are Kim struggles to revitalise North Korea’s economy.

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