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The North Korean government engaged in a provocative action early Sunday morning just hours before Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to depart for Asia.
The North Koreans fired off a ballistic missile from the town of Taechon that flew about 370 miles, according to South Korean authorities. The missile landed in the ocean off North Korea’s eastern coastline, the Washington Times reported.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a statement, called the test launch a “significant provocation that undermines peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as well as in the international community.”
“While monitoring and tracking North Korean movements to prepare against any additional provocation in close cooperation with the U.S., our military will maintain a firm readiness posture based on the capability to respond overwhelmingly to any North Korean provocation,” the statement continued, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon noted that the launch did not pose an “immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies.” Japan’s military, meanwhile, announced that officials were still processing information regarding the launch to ensure its ships and planes in the region were secure.
Today, North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile off its East coast. This comes ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to the region. pic.twitter.com/bazuR6JdeD
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) September 25, 2022
So far this year, the North Koreans have conducted at least 30 ballistic missile launches. But the timing of the latest launch was seen as significant, as it came as Harris departed the U.S. for Japan, reports said.
She is expected to travel next to Seoul, South Korea, reports added.
The Washington Times added:
North Korea‘s latest launch also comes as the U.S. and South Korea gear up for major joint military drills. Ahead of those exercises, the American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan arrived in the South Korean port of Busan last Friday. Other ships with the U.S. Carrier Strike Group 5 also arrived at Busan.
The U.S. scaled back joint military drills with South Korea under former President Donald Trump as part of Mr. Trump’s unprecedented diplomatic outreach to Pyongyang. Many of those joint exercises have now resumed, fueling increased tensions with North Korea.
The rising tensions in Asia, post-Trump, have also involved China, which engaged in provocative actions of its own after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan earlier this month.
A day after Pelosi departed, the Chinese government imposed a raft of economic sanctions on Taiwan, according to official sources.
The state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced that the country is halting exports of natural sand to Taiwan, which is a critical component of the island’s massive semiconductor industry.
In addition, the news report stated, that Beijing will stop importing citrus fruits from Taiwan including grapefruits, lemons, and oranges, along with fish products, citing China’s Taiwan Affairs Office.
Regarding the fruit imports, Chinese officials blamed “excessive pesticide residues” and the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak as reasons for the ban, CNN added.
“Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan has triggered the expected ire of Chinese authorities,” said ING Group analysts.
CNN adds: “China is Taiwan’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade worth $273 billion last year, accounting for 33% of the island’s total trade with the rest of the world, according to the Taiwanese government.”
However, the biggest concern, globally, is the effect China’s sanctions will have on Taiwan’s semiconductor industry; Taiwan is currently the largest manufacturer of the components which, critically, power all modern technology from the defense sector to domestic goods and services.
Prior to Pelosi’s visit — which was opposed by the Biden administration buck, ironically enough, backed by many Republicans — official Chinese sources issued bellicose warnings and threats.
A commentator for the Chinese government-controlled state media “Global Times” threatened that China could shoot Pelosi’s plane out of the sky when before she touched down in Taiwan.
“If US fighter jets escort Pelosi’s plane into Taiwan, it is an invasion. The PLA has the right to forcibly dispel Pelosi’s plane and the US fighter jets, including firing warning shots and making the tactical movements of obstruction. If ineffective, then shoot them down,” Hu Xijin said in a tweet that has since been taken down for violating the platform’s rules.
According to a separate CNN report last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping also issued a stern warning to President Joe Biden over the visit.
“Public opinion shall not be violated, and if you play with fire you get burned. I hope the US side can see this clearly,” Xi reportedly told Biden.
