North Korea fires missile toward South Korean territory

South Korea responds with three air-to-surface missiles

By Kang Seung-woo

North Korea fired more than 20 ballistic and other missiles, Wednesday, one of which landed in South Korean territory for the first time since the 1950-53 Korean War. The North also fired some 100 artillery shells into the East Sea.

In response, President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered the military to make a swift and stern response to ensure that North Korea clearly sees the consequences of its provocations. Hours later, South Korean fighter jets fired three air-to-surface missiles into the sea north of the inter-Korean maritime border.

According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), one short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) flew across the Northern Limit Line (NLL) and fell just 26 kilometers south of the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas. The missile headed toward South Korea's Ulleung Island, triggering an air raid alert prompting residents there to evacuate to underground shelters. Two other SRBMs landed in the East Sea.

The missile that was launched from a site in or around the North's eastern coastal city of Wonsan was detected at around 8:51 a.m., the JCS said. Earlier, North Korea also launched four SRBMs into the West Sea from North Pyongan Province at around 6:51 a.m.

Additionally, the North fired six more surface-to-air missiles eastward from the Sondok and Sinpo areas and westward from the Kwail and Onchon areas between 4:30 p.m. and 5:10 p.m. Those missiles traveled a short distance, the JCS added.

The South Korean military also detected more than 100 artillery shells fired at around 1:27 p.m. from Kosong County and Kangwon Province into the eastern buffer zone that was designated under an inter-Korean military agreement signed on Sept. 19, 2018 to reduce cross-border tensions.

"North Korea's missile, which landed near our territorial waters south of the Northern Limit Line for the first time since the division of the peninsula, is very rare and intolerable," the JCS said in a press release.

The South Korean president said North Korea's provocation was a violation of the South's territory, according to his office.

"President Yoon Suk-yeol noted that North Korea's provocation today was effectively a violation of our territory by a missile that crossed the NLL for the first time since [the] division [of the Korean peninsula]," the presidential office said in a press release following an emergency National Security Council meeting, presided over by him.

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"He also ordered the military to maintain full readiness to protect the people's lives and safety and prepare for the possibility of additional and high-intensity provocations by North Korea in the future," the presidential office added.

In response to the latest North Korean provocations, the Air Force's F-15K and KF-16 jets fired the precision-guided missiles into waters north of the NLL in the East Sea, according to the JCS.

The missiles landed in an area north of the NLL at a distance almost equivalent to that of the North's missile that dropped south of the maritime boundary, it added.

"Our military's response reaffirms our resolve to sternly respond to any provocations by North Korea and shows that we are capable of accurately striking our enemy," the JCS said later in the day.

Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, said the latest missile launches were an extremely serious threat to South Korea.

"Given that South Korea and the United States are conducting a combined air exercise, regarded as the strongest deterrence against the North Korean threats, the missile launch during the ongoing drills indicates the North has strong confidence in its nuclear capability," Park said.

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday. AP-Yonhap

Currently, the allies are conducting the five-day Vigilant Storm exercise that involves F-35A and F-35B stealth jets. North Korea also fired missiles when South Korea and the U.S. held a join naval exercise involving the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan, in September. Traditionally, U.S. aircraft carriers have been a solid presence representing Washington's extended deterrence against North Korean threats.

According to Park, Wednesday's missile launches signify that the Kim Jong-un regime is poised to continue to stoke tensions on the peninsula.

"Since Sept. 25, North Korea has kept firing missiles ― even during China's important party congress. In addition, the North had staged military provocations in consideration of South Korea's domestic situation to some extent, but the missile launch during the South's mourning period of the Itaewon crowd crush, means that it will only focus on gaining recognition as a nuclear weapons state without taking anything into consideration before holding negotiations with the U.S. on the nuclear issue," the professor said.

"To this end, North Korea is widely expected to ratchet up tensions further on the peninsula," he said.

The missile launches came hours after North Korea strongly criticized South Korea and the U.S. for the joint aerial exercise.

"Should the U.S. and South Korea attempt to use force against us, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea military's special forces will immediately carry out the strategic mission they have been given, and the U.S. and South Korea will face a terrifying event and pay a terrible price," Pak Jong-chon, secretary of the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party, said in a statement carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"They must keep in mind that taking this as a mere warning itself will be a huge mistake under current circumstances," Pak said.

The missile launches also come as the totalitarian state, which has fired ballistic missiles on 26 occasions this year, is fully prepared to conduct a seventh nuclear test soon.

"A series of North Korean provocations would be punctuated by a nuclear test," Park said. "Although a test ahead of the U.S. mid-term elections could maximize its effectiveness, it would detonate a nuclear device at any point where it could draw attention."