Last night, North Korea fired new missiles into the Yellow Sea, in the stretch that separates the Korean Peninsula from China. This is the second time in a few days that Pyongyang has carried out this type of action: just two days ago, another launch ended up in the Sea of Japan, where another bomb fell two weeks ago.
The launch follows joint military operations between South Korea and the United States in recent days, when the US nuclear submarine USS Kentucky arrived in the South Seas, which hasn’t happened in years.
Dialogue between North and South is at an all-time low, and Kim Jong Un, in his latest public statements, called on his people to step up their production of weapons, including “tactical nuclear weapons. ”North Korea also warned on Thursday that the deployment of American aircraft carriers, bombers, or missile submarines in South Korea could meet its domestic criteria leading to the use of nuclear weapons.
The picture is further complicated by tension between the sides over the mystery of soldier Travis King who was intercepted by North Korean authorities after he separated from a group of tourists who visited the demilitarized zone around the 38th parallel. Pyongyang did not respond to a request for information about the man’s health for three days, and Washington said it was concerned about how he might be treated. In fact, little is known about what happened. This man spontaneously crossed the border of Panmunjom, the historic site where the North-South truce was signed in 1953. The same soldier stationed in South Korea was recently sentenced to 50 days of hard labor in a South Korean prison and would face further disciplinary action upon his return to the United States.