North Korea launches apparent ballistic missile as world watches Ukraine

Nuclear-armed North Korea fired an apparent ballistic missile Sunday morning, Japan’s Defense Ministry said, as the world remains fixated on Ukraine and the Russian invasion of its neighbor.

Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said North Korea launched at least one missile that was believed had traveled about 300 kilometers into the Sea of Japan, hitting a maximum altitude of 600 km. Kishi said the missile did not land in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 km) from its coast.

Kishi called the launch “a threat to the peace and security of Japan, the region, and the international community” and an “unacceptable” violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

“It’s clear that North Korea is rapidly and steadily improving its related technologies and operational capabilities, and this cannot be tolerated or overlooked,” he said.

The South Korean military also confirmed the launch of a single ballistic missile from the Sunan area of Pyongyang.

It was not immediately clear what kind of missile was launched, though some observers said it was likely not the type of short-range ballistic weapon tested by Pyongyang in recent months.

Sunday’s launch comes after it conducted seven missile tests in January — the most ever in a single month for the isolated nation — and a month of relative calm on the Korean Peninsula.

China is North Korea’s top patron, and many observers had expected it to refrain from weapons tests during the Beijing Olympics.

On Jan. 30, North Korea launched a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that Tokyo said has a range of 5,000 kilometers — putting all of Japan and the U.S. territory of Guam within striking distance. It was the first such test since November 2017. Both Japan and Guam are home to key U.S. military bases that would be used in any crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

That move came weeks after North Korea hinted at ending its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests while calling on Washington to drop what it said is a “hostile policy” toward Pyongyang.

The remarks and launches have stoked concern that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be opening the door to tests of increasingly powerful weapons after years of focusing on less provocative launches.

Amid concerns that the Ukraine crisis could take Washington’s focus off the North Korean nuclear threat, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied this would be the case last month, saying that the U.S. can “walk and chew gum at the same time” even as it faces down other global challenges.

Experts said the pace of tests was likely to continue according to Kim’s schedule, even as the world grapples with the Ukraine crisis.

The conflict in Ukraine “shapes almost all geopolitics right now, and should factor somewhere” in Kim’s calculus, John Delury, a professor at Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies in Seoul, wrote on Twitter, “But even ‘taking advantage of distraction’ seems to presume too much, since [North Korea] was already testing aggressively before the war, a month ago, when briefly all eyes on it.”

Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said the launch was in line with Kim’s earlier announcements that the regime would continue to refine its weapons.

“North Korea is not going to do anyone the favor of staying quiet while the world deals with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” Easley said. “Pyongyang has an ambitious schedule of military modernization. The Kim regime’s strength and legitimacy have become tied to testing ever better missiles.”

Easley urged the U.S. “to show that it maintains strategic focus on the Indo-Pacific, including by responding sternly to Pyongyang’s provocations.”

Following the conclusion of a lengthy review of the United States’ North Korea policy earlier this year, U.S. President Joe Biden has repeatedly said that his administration harbors no “hostile intent” toward Pyongyang and is prepared to meet “unconditionally” with a goal of “the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

But Kim has appeared uninterested in Biden’s pitch, condemning the U.S. offers as a “petty trick.”

Observers say the North Korean strongman has no intention of relinquishing his nuclear arsenal, as he believes it is key to his regime’s survival. Instead, he has ordered his regime to double down and prepare for a “long-term confrontation” with the United States.

In the near-term, Kim will have plenty of options to test his weapons, with a number of key anniversaries fast approaching.

The North has already begun preparations for an apparent military parade ahead of the important dates, according to the South Korean military, including the 110th birthday of Kim’s grandfather and the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung, on April 15.

The regime has been known to stage shows of force on or around dates marking every fifth or 10th anniversary, and military parades have often been employed to unveil powerful new weapons.