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| ▲ A Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile is erected on a launcher, in this file photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Nov. 19, 2022, a day after the test-firing. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap) |
JCS-NK provocation
JCS keeps close tabs on N. Korea's possible provocations around ICBM launch anniv.
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday it has been closely monitoring the possibility of North Korea making a third attempt to launch a spy satellite later this month in light of Pyongyang's designating an anniversary marking a test-firing of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Pyongyang's state media reported Sunday that North Korea has designated Nov. 18 as the "missile industry day" to commemorate the successful test launch of the Hwasong-17 ICBM last year, when leader Kim Jong-un reaffirmed the North's "might" as a "world-class nuclear power."
JCS spokesperson Lee Sung-jun said the South Korean military has been monitoring North Korea's military activities to detect signs of staging various provocations around the first anniversary of the ICBM launch.
"Intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States have been closely coordinating to track and monitor the possibilities of North Korea's staging various provocations, including the third launch of what it calls a space launch satellite," JCS spokesperson Lee Sung-joon said during a regular press briefing.
North Korea made two botched attempts to put a reconnaissance satellite into orbit in May and August, respectively, and vowed to try again in October, but it failed to meet its self-imposed deadline without providing explanations.
Last week, Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said North Korea may have delayed its plan to make a third attempt to launch a spy satellite to fix technological glitches in the third-stage system with Russian assistance, weighing the possibility of its launch in late November.
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