Yoon orders overwhelming response to N. Korean provocation

Dec 19, 2023, 09:51 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol attends a National Security Council meeting on Dec. 18, 2023./ Source: Presidential Office

By AsiaToday reporter Lee Seok-jong

President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered an “immediate, overwhelming response” to any provocations by North Korea toward the South Korean territory and people, following a series of North Korean launches of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in just 10 hours between Sunday and Monday. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) warned Pyongyang to stop provocations or be held solely responsible for all of the consequences the tense situation might bring. South Korea, the United States and Japan decided to jointly respond to North Korea’s long-range missile launch.

The JCS said it detected the missile was fired from the Pyongyang area at 8:24 a.m. at a lofted angle toward the East Sea. It marks the North’s fifth ICBM launch this year, and the launch comes in five months since the test-firing of the Hwasong-18 type on July 12.

The missile reached an altitude of over 6,000 kilometers and flew nearly 1,000 kilometers for some 70 minutes before splashing down in the East Sea. Its peak altitude and flight time and distance are similar to the Hwasong-18 type, which was launched on July 12.

If calculated based on the trajectory, the ICBM-class ballistic missile launched this time could have a flying range of over 15,000 kilometers, in which case the whole of the U.S. territory would be within the range.

Following the North’s ICBM launch, the South Korean government held an emergency meeting of the National Security Council presided over by National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong, to discuss countermeasures. President Yoon, who attended the meeting, ordered an overwhelming response to North Korea’s provocations and said, “We have to strengthen the South Korea-U.S. joint defense posture and actively promote joint response with the U.S. and Japan by utilizing the real-time information sharing system for North Korean missiles.”

Yoon called for active solidarity with the international community to condemn and deter North Korea’s illegal nuclear and missile activities. He also called for bolstered execution of nuclear deterrence by accelerating tasks under the allies’ nuclear consultative group, while enhancing the readiness posture against further possible provocations by the North during year-end holidays.

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