North Korea Fires Second Missile In Three Days Including ICBM

North Korea conducted its second weapons test on Monday in three days, firing two short-range ballistic missiles towards its eastern waters, reigniting regional tensions over US-South Korean military drills that it regards as an invasion rehearsal. 

The missile launches come after North Korea threatened to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile in response to the drills in an unprecedented strong response. A new testing spree also allows North Korea to increase its arsenals in the midst of stalled talks with its adversaries, and eventually use the increased military capability as leverage to try to wrest larger concessions from the US.

The two missile launches were detected by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff on Monday morning from a western coastal town just north of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.

It stated that South Korea has increased its surveillance posture and is prepared in close coordination with the US.

According to Japan's Defense Ministry, both missiles landed in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. According to the statement, Japan condemned the launches as a threat to Japan's and the international community's peace and security.

According to the Japanese Defence Ministry, the first missile reached a maximum altitude of 100 kilometres (62 miles) and flew 400 kilometres (250 miles). According to the report, the second missile reached an altitude of about 50 kilometres (30 miles) and flew a distance of 350 kilometres (217 miles).

On Monday morning, North Korea's state media reported that its long-range artillery units on its western coast fired two cross-country rounds towards the eastern waters, possibly referring to the same activity that its neighbours said was missile launches. According to the official Korean Central News Agency, the North Korean artillery rounds simulated strikes on targets as far away as 395 kilometres (245 miles).

The North claimed the launches were carried out using its new 600-millimetre multiple rocket launcher system, which could be armed with "tactical" nuclear weapons for battlefield use. According to some experts, the weapons system is a short-range ballistic missile.

"The frequency with which we use the Pacific as a firing range is determined by the nature of the US forces' actions," Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement carried by state media. "We are well aware of the recent brisk movement of US forces' strategic strike means around the Korean Peninsula."

She called the US military "the worst maniacs," and threatened to take unspecified "corresponding counteraction" in response to future US military moves.

She could be referring to the United States' flight of B-1B long-range, supersonic bombers over South Korea and Japan on Sunday. The B-1B deployment was in response to North Korea's Saturday launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM off its east coast, the country's first missile test since 1 January.

North Korea is extremely sensitive to the deployment of B-1B bombers, which can carry massive conventional weapons payloads.

North Korea's state media said Sunday that the ICBM test was intended to bolster the country's "fatal" nuclear attack capability while also testing the weapon's reliability and combat readiness. Kim Yo Jong had previously threatened to take more drastic measures in response to upcoming military drills between the United States and South Korea.

North Korea has consistently condemned regular South Korean-US military drills as a rehearsal for a northward invasion, despite the allies' claims that their exercises are defensive in nature. According to some observers, North Korea frequently uses rival drills as an excuse to hone and perfect its weapons systems.

The South Korean and US militaries plan to hold a tabletop exercise this week to practise a joint response to North Korea's potential use of nuclear weapons. The allies will conduct another joint computer-simulated exercise and field training in March.

North Korea claims to have nuclear-capable missiles capable of striking both the US mainland and South Korea, but many foreign experts believe North Korea still has some critical remaining technologies to master, such as shrinking warheads small enough to be mounted on missiles and ensuring those warheads survive atmospheric reentry.

Kim Yo Jong stated again on Monday that North Korea has re-entry vehicle technology. She also reacted angrily to South Korean experts who questioned whether North Korea's ICBMs would be operational in a real-world conflict.

Kim Yo Jong insisted that the nine hours of launch preparation time ordered by her brother Kim Jong Un included efforts to seal the launch site and evacuate people, and was not excessive due to flaws in the missile system itself.

Last year, North Korea set an annual record by launching more than 70 missiles. North Korea has claimed that many of its weapons tests were a warning to the US and South Korea about previous military drills. It also passed legislation authorising the use of nuclear weapons in a variety of scenarios.

Kim Jong Un entered 2023 with a call for an "exponential increase" in nuclear warheads, mass production of battlefield tactical nuclear weapons aimed at South Korea, and the development of more advanced ICBMs aimed at the United States.