North Korea warns US of a “fiercer” military response, launches another missile

North Korea has warned the US of a “fiercer military response” to the US’s defence ties with South Korea and Japan. North Korea also launched yet another ballistic missile yesterday. The missile was fired towards North Korea’s eastern waters, according to officials in Seoul.

North Korea said in its statement that the warning was in response to trilateral talks between the US, South Korea, and Japan on Sunday during the ASEAN summit. At the meeting, US President Joe Biden reaffirmed a commitment to defending South Korea and Japan with a “full range of capabilities,” including nuclear weapons, CNN reported.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui warned that the US is taking a “gamble it will regret.” Hui added that the greater the US presence in the region, the fiercer North Korea’s counteraction would be.

A series of tit-for-tat conflicts began earlier this month, after North Korea fired at least 10 missiles to the east and west of the Korean Peninsula.

A missile from North Korea landed close to South Korean waters for the first time since the countries split in 1945, according to South Korean officials.

On November 3, North Korea conducted what was believed to be a failed launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). A South Korean government source said the presumed Hwasong-17 ICBM successfully separated at the second stage, but is believed to have failed after that, and fell into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

Following the seemingly failed ICBM launch, there were warnings in Japan for people to seek shelter in the northern prefectures of Miyagi, Yamagata, and Niigata. Japan’s Defense Ministry later evaluated that the missile did not cross over Japan.

North Korea had warned earlier this month that it would respond with “powerful follow-up measures” if the US and South Korea continue their air exercises.

The air drills were believed to be in response to North Korea firing two short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan, the latest of a number of missile launches over the past two months.

Time will tell what happens next in the latest outburst between the two bitter enemies.