North Korea fires missiles toward sea for a 2nd day, crushing Seoul's hopes for better ties

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Wednesday, its second launch event in two days, the Associated Press (AP) reported, citing South Korea’s military.

The strikes came hours after a senior North Korean official released crude insults against Seoul’s hopes for warmer relations.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said several missiles lifted off from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area on Wednesday morning and flew about 240 kilometres (150 miles) each in a direction toward the North’s eastern waters.

An additional North Korean ballistic missile fired later Wednesday travelled more than 700 kilometres (435 miles) off the North's east coast, it said.

South Korea's military maintains a readiness to repel any provocations by North Korea under a solid military alliance with the United States, it said. Earlier, the military said it detected the launch of an unidentified projectile from North Korea’s capital region on Tuesday.

The projectile, also likely a ballistic missile, disappeared from South Korean military radars after displaying an abnormal development in the initial launch stage, state media reported. According to the reports, the launch ended in failure.

“World-startling fools” — North Korea

The back-to-back launches came after North Korea made it clear that it has no intentions of improving ties with South Korea, whose liberal government has steadfastly expressed its hopes to restore long-dormant dialogue.

On Tuesday, Jang Kum Chol, first vice minister at Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry, said South Korea would always remain North Korea's “most hostile enemy state.”

He derided South Korea as “world-startling fools” engaged in wishful thinking over a recent statement by Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

After South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over alleged civilian drone flights into North Korea, Kim Yo Jong, on Monday, praised him for what she called honesty and courage, but reiterated a threat to retaliate if such flights recur.

South Korean officials responded by describing Kim Yo Jong’s statement as meaningful progress in relations.

Jang said her statement was intended as a warning. He cited Kim Yo Jong as calling South Korea “the dogs affected by mange that blindly bark to the tune of neighbouring dogs” as she criticised it for recently co-sponsoring a UN resolution on the North’s purported human rights violations.

No talks with South Korea

North Korea has refused to return to talks with South Korea and the US and pushed to expand its nuclear arsenal since Kim Jong Un’s diplomacy with US President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. North Korea has instead sought to strengthen ties with Russia, China and other countries embroiled in confrontations with the US.

Last September, Kim Jong Un travelled to Beijing to attend a military parade alongside other foreign leaders and held his first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in six years.

North Korea’s state media said Wednesday that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit North Korea on Thursday for a two-day trip.

Earlier this week, North Korea said Kim Jong Un had observed a test of an upgraded solid-fuel engine for weapons and called it a significant development boosting his country’s strategic military arsenal.

Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and conceal their launches than liquid-fuel weapons, which, in general, must be fueled before liftoff and cannot last long.

South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Monday the engine test was likely related to an effort to build a more powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that can carry multiple nuclear warheads, according to lawmakers who attended the meeting.

Experts told AP that North Korea wants multi-warhead missiles to penetrate US missile defences, but they doubt Pyongyang has mastered the technology needed to acquire such a weapon.