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South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff did not immediately say where the weapon was fired from and how far it flew.
The launch came hours after the South Korean Navy announced that a US nuclear-powered submarine – the USS Annapolis – had arrived at port on Jeju Island. The arrival of the USS Annapolis adds to the Allied show of force to counter North Korean nuclear threats.
Last week, the USS Kentucky became the first nuclear-armed US submarine to come to South Korea since the 1980s. North Korea responded to its arrival by testing ballistic and cruise missiles in apparent manifestations that it might launch nuclear strikes against South Korea and deploy US naval vessels.
Also on Monday, the US-led United Nations Command said it had begun a conversation with North Korea about a US soldier who fled into the North last week across one of the world’s most fortified borders.
Andrew Harrison, a British lieutenant-general and deputy commander of the UN Command, declined to say when the conversation began, how many exchanges took place and whether the North Koreans responded constructively, citing the sensitivity of the discussions. He also refused to mention in detail what the command knows about the soldier. Travis Kingcondition.
“None of us know where this is going to end,” Harrison said during a news conference in Seoul. “I am an optimist in life, and I remain an optimist. But then again, I’ll leave it at that.”
It was not immediately clear whether Harrison’s comments indicated tangible progress in communications after the leadership said in a statement last week that it was “working with” its counterparts in North Korea.
The United Nations Command, which was created to fight the Korean War, remained in South Korea to oversee implementation of the 1953 armistice that stopped fighting in the conflict.
Harrison said the connection occurred through “mechanisms” set up under the armistice. This could refer to the so-called pink phone, a telephone line between the leadership and the North Korean People’s Army at the border truce village of Panmunjom, where King crossed.
The two Koreas are still technically at war since a peace treaty was never signed. The United States, which fought alongside the South Koreans and other allies during the war, has never established diplomatic relations with the North, but the line is a common way of communicating.
North Korea has been publicly silent about King, who crossed the border during a tour of Panmunjom while he was supposed to be heading to Fort Bliss, Texas, after his release from prison in South Korea following an assault conviction.
US officials have expressed concern about his safety and have said earlier that North Korea has ignored requests for information about him.
Analysts say North Korea could wait weeks or even months to provide meaningful information on King to increase leverage and urgency for US efforts to secure his release. Some say North Korea may try to extract concessions from Washington, such as tying his release to the US reducing its military activities with South Korea.
Qing’s crossing came at a time of high tensions on the Korean peninsula, with North Korea’s arms demonstrations intensifying and the United States’ joint military exercises in a tit-for-tat cycle.
On Monday, the South Korean military said a US nuclear-powered submarine had arrived at a port on Jeju Island. The arrival of the USS Annapolis adds to the Allied show of force to counter North Korean nuclear threats.
Last week, the USS Kentucky became the first nuclear-armed US submarine to come to South Korea since the 1980s. North Korea responded to its arrival by testing ballistic and cruise missiles in apparent manifestations that it might launch nuclear strikes against South Korea and deploy US naval ships.
The North Korean defense minister also issued a veiled threat, saying that the Kentucky docked in South Korea could be a reason for North Korea to use a nuclear weapon against it. North Korea has used similar rhetoric before, but the statement underscored how strained relations are now.
The United States and South Korea expanded their joint military exercises and increased regional deployments of American aircraft and ships, including bombers, aircraft carriers and submarines in a show of force against North Korea, which has test-fired about 100 missiles since the beginning of 2022.
Annapolis, whose main mission is to destroy enemy ships and submarines, is powered by a nuclear reactor but armed with conventional weapons. The Annapolis is mainly docked in Jeju to load supplies, but Jang Do-young, a South Korean navy spokesman, said the US and South Korean militaries are discussing whether to arrange a training involving the ship.
The armistice turned 70 on Thursday, an anniversary that South Korea plans to mark with official ceremonies honoring the dead that will include invited foreign war veterans.
North Korea, which is marking Victory Day in the “Great Fatherland Liberation War,” is preparing for massive celebrations likely to include a military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, where leader Kim Jong Un may display his most advanced nuclear-capable missiles designed to target regional rivals and the United States.
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said on Monday that a Chinese delegation led by Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, will travel to North Korea for the festivities.
Visits by foreign guests to North Korea have been extremely rare since the start of the pandemic, prompting North Korea to close its borders to protect its abysmal healthcare system. North Korea since last year has gradually reopened trade with China in an apparent attempt to rescue the crippled economy that has been hit more than the past two years by border controls linked to the pandemic.
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