North Korea has performed a second missile test in three days, according to the South Korean and Japanese military authorities, firing two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan after launching cruise missiles over the weekend.
Many details of the launch are not yet known, including the size and range of the missiles. They were fired from the central east coast of North Korea, and Japan said it did not believe that they had strayed into its territorial waters.
Testing cruise missiles is not specifically banned by United Nations security council resolutions, but testing ballistic missiles is. A test of short or medium-range weapons would not have the same impact as an intercontinental ballistic missile that could strike the US mainland and would not breach Kim Jong-un’s promise to suspend long-range missile and underground nuclear tests.
It would still, however, be alarming to countries within range, such as South Korean and Japan. Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese prime minister, ordered his defence agencies to gather information about the missiles and to prepare for the unexpected, and will convene a meeting of the national security council later today.
“It’s outrageous, for it threatens the peace and safety of Japan and the region,” he said. “We will express strong protest and condemnation. In close co-operation with related countries such as the US and South Korea, I will protect without fail the life and peaceful existence of Japanese people.”
Meanwhile, from South Korea's Chosun Ilbo:
The global atomic watchdog has detected signs that North Korea could be resuming uranium enrichment after removing the cooling units from its centrifuge facility in Yongbyon.
The development was mentioned by Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, at a meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna on Monday.
Grossi's remark came on the heels of the IAEA’s recent report last month saying the North restarted a nuclear reactor that has produced plutonium for nuclear weapons.
"Since early July 2021, there have been indications including the discharge of cooling water, consistent with the operation of the [5-megawatt] reactor," which was shut down in December 2018, the report said.
The additional resumption of uranium enrichment would mean the regime is running the Yongbyon nuclear complex again in full swing.
Grossi called the North's activities a "cause for serious concern." "The continuation of the nuclear program is a clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and is deeply regrettable," he added.
The assumption must be that Pyongyang is looking for attention – specifically, for attention from Joe Biden. A round of talks – with promises made and sanctions relieved – would go down very well. Biden hasn't shown much interest so far, but perhaps these latest provocations will nudge him into some kind of action. This is one area – perhaps the only remaining area, now the Middle East and Afghanistan have been effectively abandoned – where the US is still a key player.
Mick Hartley 
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