In a Seoul train station, on October 31, 2024, a television news shows images of a North Korean missile test. JUNG YEON-JE / AFP North Korea carried out a “crucial” intercontinental ballistic missile test on Thursday October 31, supervised by its leader Kim Jong-un, aimed at strengthening its nuclear deterrence. “The test firing is an appropriate military action that fully meets the objective of informing our rivals (…) of our willingness to retaliate,” Kim Jong-un said during the launch, the news agency reported. North Korean state KCNA. The White House was quick to denounce this shot, worrying about the risks of destabilization in the region. “This launch constitutes a blatant violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions,” National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement. Under UN sanctions, Pyongyang is banned from carrying out any weapons tests using ballistic technology. The shooting came just hours after the defense chiefs of the United States and South Korea called on Pyongyang to withdraw its troops from Russia, which have been deployed in preparation for possible action against Ukrainian forces . The South Korean military was the first to announce that it had “detected a ballistic missile launched from the Pyongyang region towards the East Sea around 7:10 a.m. [23 h 10, jeudi à Paris] », using the Korean name for the Sea of Japan. Alert level raised in South Korea This missile belonged to “the class of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM)” – which have a range of at least 5,500 kilometers and are generally designed to carry nuclear charges –, assured the press the Japanese Minister of Defense, Gen Nakatani, specifying that the flight distance was estimated at around 1,000 kilometers, for a maximum altitude observed at more than 7,000 km. “It was the longest flight time ever recorded [pour un missile nord-coréen]. I think maybe it’s different from a conventional missile,” he added. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers North Korea continues its business of destroying the symbols of reunification with the South Read later The South Korean army had warned the day before that the North, equipped with nuclear weapons, was preparing to test an intercontinental ballistic missile, or even carry out a nuclear test, perhaps before the American presidential election on November 5. “Our military has raised its alert level and is closely sharing information regarding North Korea’s ballistic missile with the US and Japanese authorities, maintaining a high level of preparedness,” added the Seoul General Staff. Seoul studies the possibility of sending weapons to Ukraine The North Korean launch “appears to have been carried out to divert attention from international criticism of the deployment of its troops” in Russia, declared to Agence France- Press, Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. Le Monde Application La Matinale du Monde Every morning, find our selection of 20 articles not to be missed Download the application According to Washington and Seoul, some 10,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia, without their mission being clearly identified. “The fact that such a large number of troops moved west suggests that it is unlikely that they left simply to observe,” said a South Korean presidential office official. For South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, the North Korean deployment could “result in an escalation of threats to the security of the Korean Peninsula.” It also raises fears of an escalation in the conflict in Ukraine, two and a half years after the launch of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine launched by Vladimir Putin. South Korea, a major arms exporter, has said it is exploring the possibility of sending weapons directly to Ukraine in response, something it has so far opposed in due to a long-standing national policy that prevented it from supplying weapons in active conflicts. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers The presence of North Korean troops alongside Russia illustrates Pyongyang’s new global ambitions Read later Seoul has long accused the North of sending weapons to help Moscow fight kyiv. North Korea has recently strengthened its military ties with Moscow, with President Vladimir Putin making a rare visit to Pyongyang in June, signing a mutual defense agreement with Kim Jong-un. Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
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