North Korea fired two tactical ballistic missiles into the waters east of the Korean Peninsula on September 15. This was a clear violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions that ban Pyongyang from conducting such tests. The leftist South Korean government, however, is acting as if the North’s blatant threats are nothing to be worried about while being honored by the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the missiles flew approximately 800 kilometers (500 miles) while reaching an altitude of 60 kilometers (37 miles). The test occurred a few hours before South Korea followed with a scheduled submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test.
Under UN Security Council resolutions, the North is prohibited from testing ballistic missiles. This was North Korea’s fifth military provocation this year. Pyongyang launched cruise missiles in January and March, and a new type of short-range ballistic missiles in March. It conducted a cruise missile test just this past weekend. This test went unnoticed by South Korean and U.S. military authorities until the North’s state news agency announced it.
The presidential Blue House released a statement that only said, “President Moon Jae-in was informed about the North Korea’s launch of ‘unidentified projectiles,’ and he will receive further updates from his national security advisor.” The Moon administration has been repeatedly using the term “unidentified projectile” rather than “ballistic missile” in an apparent attempt to downplay the provocation. However, the JCS clearly stated that the North fired ballistic missiles this time.
North Korea’s latest provocation occurred while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was visiting South Korea to meet with President Moon and Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong. Moon reportedly said, “We assess the Chinese role and contribution as we push ahead with the Korean Peninsula peace process, and we continue to hope for China’s support.”
Wang, on the other hand, did not respond directly to Moon’s peace process comment. The Chinese Foreign Minister said that China and South Korea “have a role to play as guardians of peace and stability, and facilitators of development and prosperity” in the region. Wang added that the two countries need to strive for a “swift, stable, full-fledged and steady” development of bilateral relations by further strengthening the sense of community between them, which could be interpreted as a demand for South Korea to establish closer ties with Beijing. Wang also failed to address North Korea’s provocation directly, only stating that “not only North Korea but also other countries engage in military activities.”
When asked about an assessment that South Korea is leaning more toward the United States than China, Wang spoke back aggressively, asking, “Isn’t it so?” He then added, “You should ask yourself whether South Korea is leaning toward the United States or China.” Regarding the introduction of a U.S. House bill that would include South Korea in the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing pact, Wang described it as an “outdated” byproduct of the Cold War.
On Wednesday, President Moon witnessed the SLBM test off the coast of Taean, South Chungcheong. “Our possession of an SLBM carries the significance of securing deterrence against omnidirectional threats, and we expect it to play a key role in building our self-defense capability and peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Moon was reported to have said, according to Blue House spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong released another threatening statement on September 15 criticizing Moon for his comments.
“If Moon really said that as it was reported, he must be so stupid to be a president of a country,” she said. “We express deep regret over the president using a word ‘provocation’ that only reporters would recklessly use.”
She added that “inter-Korean relations would move toward complete destruction phase if the president himself enters into criticizing its counterpart since it will be met with appropriate confrontation.”
“We do not want that to happen and he [Moon] should always be careful about what he says and does.”
North Korea’s ballistic missile test on Wednesday was met with outrage from the international community. The U.S. Department of State clearly stated that North Korea’s recent test violates UN Security Council resolutions. “The United States condemns the DPRK’s missile launch,” a State Department spokesperson said. “This launch is in violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and poses a threat to the DPRK’s neighbors and other members of the international community.”
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called the North Korean launches “outrageous” and claimed they “threaten the peace and security of our country and region.”
While the U.S. military’s Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii said the North Korean ballistic missile test did not pose any “immediate threat,” it described the launch as highlighting “the destabilizing impact of the DPRK’s illicit weapons program.”
South Korea’s major newspapers ran editorials criticizing the Moon administration for its vague stance toward the North’s provocations.
The JoongAng Ilbo newspaper’s editorial argued that, “After Wednesday’s launch, President Moon Jae-in held a National Security Council meeting at the Blue House but the government still reacted to the missile provocation passively, saying they were just short-range missiles.”
“The government also took no action after North Korea test-fired the cruise missiles over the weekend, saying it did not constitute a violation of UN Security Council resolutions. The government’s careless attitude only helps deepen anxiety among the public.”
The Chosun Ilbo newspaper ran an editorial titled “The government that says ‘it is not a violation of agreements’ regardless of the type of North Korea’s provocation.”
The editorial argued that “Nobody in this government is willing to talk about the growing threats of the North Korean nuclear and missile programs and they are only thinking about holding another inter-Korean event.”
The newspaper criticized Foreign Minister Chung for saying that the cruise missiles are not included in the inter-Korean agreements. “Doesn’t the South Korean Foreign Minister have to worry about our people and national security first?” the editorial said. “Instead, he worries about the government and speaks up for North Korea. They will always be like this regardless of what the North Korean provocation looks like in the future.”
The newspaper also pointed out that Chung visited the White House in March 2018 and guaranteed that North Korea had committed to denuclearization. At that time, he told reporters that he told President Trump that “in our meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is committed to denuclearization.”
“Kim pledged that North Korea will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests.” However, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper asked, “What was the result of this guarantee on behalf of North Korea?”
Chung also said that “Kim Jong-un still has the willingness to denuclearize” during his confirmation hearing earlier this year. A month before the confirmation hearing, Kim Jong-un declared that he will develop tactical nuclear weapons and nuclear submarines during the party conference. The newspaper asked, “Where is North Korea’s willingness to denuclearize?” It added that even North Korea would have been surprised at the Moon administration’s apparent desperation to resume negotiations.
Moon’s government appears to be out of step with the international community, domestic sentiment, and even North Korea. Now observers are keenly watching the presidential race for signs of a more reasonable North Korea policy from the candidates that will address Pyongyang’s increasing missile threats.
