North Korea conducts third ballistic missile launch in less than a week
North Korea has launched a total of 36 ballistic missiles so far this year.
North Korea has launched a total of 36 ballistic missiles so far this year.
Pyongyang’s consecutive missile launches came just one day before US Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit South Korea.
North Korea repeatedly clarified that it no longer seeks to discuss Korean Peninsula affairs with the Yoon Suk-yeol government.
The launch of the ballistic missile comes in an apparent show of force against the arrival of the US Navy’s USS Ronald Reagan in the region.
In addition to the 17 people officially recognized, there are about 470 missing persons for whom the possibility cannot be ruled out.
North Korea’s Defense Ministry claimed that the US’ goal is to “tarnish the image of the DPRK.”
Of the 17 abductees recognized by the Japanese government, only five have returned to Japan.
Amid the North's ongoing provocations and ridicule, South Korean military authorities and the US have maintained a firm status.
The assessments are in line with the North Korean leader’s recent public pledge that he will never be the first to renounce nuclear weapons.
Previous commercial satellite imagery suggested that North Korea had resumed reactivation activity at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site since early March.