hankyoreh

By Ha Eo-young, staff reporter

On Mar. 3, North Korea launched two more short-range missiles into the East Sea. Following an earlier launch on Feb. 27, the launch is raising questions about whether Pyongyang will make more launches and what its intentions may be. Declaring this to be a violation of a UN Security Council resolution, the South Korean government is exploring options for a response, including lodging a complaint with the Security Council.

“Around 6:19 am, North Korea launched two projectiles believed to be short-range ballistic missiles in the area around Wonsan in Gangwon Province, heading to open sea in the northeast. They traveled around 500 km,” said Kim Min-seok, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesperson during the regular morning press briefing.

“This launch was an irregular military action that took place suddenly without any advance warning,” Kim said. “This provocation constitutes a grave threat to the international regime governing missile launches and the safety of planes and ships.”

Judging from the distance the missiles traveled, South Korean military authorities believe it to be a Scud-C, which has a range of more than 500km, or a Scud-ER. The latter is an improved version of the Scud-D, which has a range greater than 700km.

On Feb. 27, North Korea launched four Scud missiles into the East Sea. On Feb. 11, it fired four rounds from the new KN-09 multiple rocket launcher in the same direction.

The South Korean Defense Ministry considers this missile launch a violation of a UN Security Council resolution forbidding North Korea from firing any ballistic missiles.

“Launches of projectiles using ballistic missile technology are prohibited by the Security Council resolution,” Kim said. “The guidelines of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) strictly regulate such activity, forbidding the export of missiles whose range is greater than 300km. It is problematic that the missile launched by North Korea traveled more than 500km.” Kim was referring to the fact that North Korea has exported such missiles in the past.

The government is considering whether it will ask the UN to impose further sanctions on North Korea.

“As far as I know, there is virtually no precedent for the UN Security Council to consider sanctions for short-range missiles with a range of less than 1,000km,” said a government official on condition of anonymity. “We will explore options for an appropriate response, including asking for sanctions, taking into full consideration the reasons for the launch and the severity of the provocation.”

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