Two cruise missiles fired, not banned under UN resolutions. The new US administration minimizes the incident. Kim Jong-un wants Washington to abandon aggressive tones. The clash between the United States and China endangers North Korea's denuclearization efforts.
Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - On March 21, North Korea fired two missiles off its west coast reports South Korean Joint Staff, underlining that the launch took place from the Onchon area and that it involved two cruise missiles
It is the first missile test carried out by the Kim Jong-un regime since last April and most observers believe it an attempt by Pyongyang to verify the resolve of the Biden administration without resorting more impressive acts.
The US president downplayed the incident, like the Pentagon. The US military speaks of two short-range missiles and reminds that under United Nations resolutions, North Koreans are prohibited from possessing and using ballistic missiles, not cruise missiles.
North Korea has been isolated from the international community (except from China and partly from Russia), and subject to international sanctions for years for its nuclear and missile program. Since the end of 2017, in the framework of negotiations with Donald Trump, the then-incumbent US president, Pyongyang has unilaterally decreed a moratorium on nuclear tests and ballistic tests.
The dialogue between Washington and the Kim regime is in a phase of stagnation. North Koreans are demanding that the US abandon its aggressive policy towards them for a return to the talks on denuclearization.
More than for the sporadic missile exercises in the North, South Korean analysts say they are concerned about the international scenario. The increasingly heated confrontation between the US and China, coupled with signs of closer relations between Pyongyang and Beijing, would endanger regional cooperation to block Kim's nuclear plans.