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Its statement described the North Korean missile launch as a “serious provocation” that threatens regional peace and stability.
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. This highlighted the Allies’ efforts to enhance the visibility of US strategic assets in the region to intimidate the North.
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 test-firing ballistic and cruise missiles last week in what appeared to be demonstrations that it might carry out nuclear strikes on South Korea and deploy US Navy ships.
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 and deputy commander of the United Nations Command, which oversees implementation of the 1953 armistice that ended the fighting in the Korean War, declined to comment on the status of the North Korean investigation or say what the command knew about the soldier. Travis King case.
“I am an optimist in life and I am still an optimist,” Harrison said during a press conference in Seoul.
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said North Korea only “acknowledged” to receiving the UN letter last week and had not provided any information or commented further since then.
“There have been no new communications since last week,” Miller said, adding that North Korea also did not respond to messages sent by US military or civilian officials.
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.
A senior US administration official said Monday in Washington that the United States still cannot confirm King’s condition. Asked if U.S. officials had a better understanding of whether King intended to defect, the official said they still had “no indication of what was going on in his mind that day.” The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
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.
Between the firing of ballistic and cruise missiles last week, North Korea’s defense minister also issued a veiled threat, saying that Kentucky docking 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, to counter the nuclear threats posed by 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 submarine was mainly docked in Jeju to load supplies, but Jang Do-young, a South Korean navy spokesman, said the US and South Korean militaries were discussing whether to arrange a training exercise involving the ship.
The two Koreas are still technically at war since a peace treaty was never signed.
The armistice became 70 years ago on Thursday, an anniversary South Korea will mark with official ceremonies honoring the dead that will include invited foreign war veterans.
North Korea, which marks the date as Victory Day in the “Great Fatherland Liberation War,” is planning huge celebrations likely to include a military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, where leader Kim Jong Un may display his nuclear-capable missiles designed to target his 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 attend 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 effort to rescue the crippled economy hit hardest by border controls linked to the pandemic.
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