The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said on Sunday that South Korea will have to pay a "dear price" for sending propaganda leaflets across the border the previous day.
NATO and Europe are crying hoarse about North Korean troops being deployed in Russia. According to the Pentagon, about 10,000 North Korean troops are ready to be deployed in the war zone, most of whom are undergoing training in Russia. This would imply strength of about one division.
Guided by Kim, North Korea carried out a "crucial" missile test that set milestones in "perpetuating the absolute superiority" of the country's armed forces, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Russia said on Monday it will continue its cooperation with North Korea but declined to comment on allegations that it plans to use North Korean soldiers in military operations against Ukraine.
The defence ministry's stance was echoed by the ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Sunday.
“If North Korea deliberately carried out the missile launch while the international community is distracted by the “Russian invasion of Ukraine, such an act is absolutely unforgivable. We cannot overlook considerable missile and nuclear advancement.”
North Korea has a long history of using provocations such as missile or nuclear tests to seek international concessions. The latest tests come as the North’s economy, already battered by decades of mismanagement and crippling U.S.-led sanctions, is hit hard by pandemic border closures. The tests are viewed by many as an attempt to pressure President Biden’s administration into easing the cache of sanctions.
Pyongyang appears to be inching closer to its earlier threat to consider suspending a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests amidst an impasse in its nuclear negotiations with America. The latest launch suggests that Kim’s moratorium is already broken. In recent months, North Korea has ramped up its testing activity.
North Korea fired one suspected ballistic missile from the Jagang Province area on Sunday and the missile landed outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone.
"The government is following North Korea's nuclear and missile activities under close South Korea-US coordination," Lee told reporters here.
