The European Union (EU) today urged North Korea to stop stoking “military tensions” in the region, following the latest ballistic missile launch and drone incursions outside its borders by Pyongyang.
“[North] Korea’s continued violation of UN Security Council resolutions and recent statements indicating that it intends to continue with such illegal actions do not help the [North Korean] people,” stressed the spokesman for EU diplomacy, Peter Stano.
North Korea launched three new short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, on Saturday morning, a day after Seoul successfully conducted a solid-fuel space launch.
The North Korean firings also followed the incursion with five ‘drones’ (unmanned flying devices) in South Korean airspace earlier in the week.
The North Korean incursion was the first incident of its kind in five years and prompted an apology from the Seoul Defense Minister for the failure of its Air Force, which failed to shoot down a single one of these ‘drones’, despite the mobilization of fighters for a mission that lasted five hours.
Pyongyang fired about 70 ballistic missiles in 2022, including eight intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and three cruise missiles, according to data released by South Korean news agency Yonhap on New Year’s Eve.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed on Sunday to “exponentially” increase production of nuclear warheads this year.
North Korean state media reported that Kim had urged a drastic increase in the country’s military power to protect the national interest, at a time when the United States and its allies are exerting more military pressure on North Korea.
Quoted by the official North Korean news agency, Kim Jong-un said that North Korea is forced to increase “exponentially” the manufacture of nuclear warheads to mass produce tactical nuclear weapons.
The same source said that the North Korean leader had ordered the production of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile capable of rapid retaliatory strike and that Pyongyang would soon launch its first military spy satellite.
Such statements were issued during a meeting of the ruling party in the country.
