North Korea fired several unidentified ballistic missiles into the East Sea on the 19th. It was an additional ballistic missile launch after 11 days and the seventh provocation this year. As the missile provocations continue, some analysts say it is a show of force ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's mid-next-month visit to China, while others see it as an extension of new weapons development such as cluster munitions.
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), at about 6:10 a.m. that day, North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) into the East Sea from around Sinpo. The missiles are assessed to have flown about 140 kilometers. Japan's Defense Ministry released that day that North Korea's ballistic missiles fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities tracked North Korea's launch movements, and South Korea, the United States, and Japan shared information on North Korea's ballistic missiles closely. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is conducting a detailed analysis of the specifications of North Korea's projectiles. A JCS official said, "We are closely watching North Korea's various movements and maintaining the capability and posture to respond overwhelmingly to any provocation."
North Korea's ballistic missile launch that day came again 11 days after the 8th. On the morning and afternoon of the 8th, North Korea fired short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) into the East Sea twice. On the previous day, the 7th, it also fired an unidentified projectile, which the military authorities assessed disappeared after showing abnormal signs in the early stage of flight. Including the ballistic missiles launched on Jan. 4 and 27 and Mar. 14, North Korea has carried out seven ballistic missile provocations this year.
As North Korea claimed it conducted a series of "important weapons system" tests from the 6th to the 8th, some analysts say the launch that day was an extension of those tests. North Korea disclosed that it test-fired short-range ballistic missiles fitted with cluster warheads, conducted electromagnetic weapons system tests, and carried out tests dispersing carbon fiber mock munitions. Cluster munitions are designed to explode with dozens to hundreds of bomblets, causing very wide-scale damage.
Some also see it as a "warning to the United States." A U.S.-China summit between President Trump and President Xi Jinping is scheduled to be held on the occasion of Trump's mid-next-month visit to China. The Korean Peninsula issue could be discussed on the agenda there, and North Korea is said to be seeking to assert its presence ahead of that.