13 February 2017•Update: 13 February 2017
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
North Korea claimed on Monday it successfully tested a new medium-range missile last weekend, leaving South Korea mulling retaliatory measures.
Pyongyang’s official KCNA news agency revealed Sunday’s launch was overseen by leader Kim Jong-un and involved a strategic weapon system known as the Pukguksong-2 -- allegedly capable of delivering a nuclear warhead and evading interception.
Kim was quoted as celebrating the transformation of his country’s indigenous rocket technology thanks to developing a “high thrust solid fuel-powered engine”.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff noted the missile appeared to be a modified version of the North’s Rodong missile capable of reaching the entire Korean Peninsula as well as Japan -- rather than an intercontinental ballistic missile, which Kim previously threatened to launch.
Described by the leader as a gift for his late father Kim Jong-il, whose birthday will be celebrated Thursday, the test was the first major challenge Pyongyang posed to Seoul and its main military ally, the U.S., since President Donald Trump took office last month.
S. Korean, Russian response
South Korea is looking for a “response” via the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), according to a diplomatic source cited by the Yonhap News Agency on Monday. The Security Council hit the North with two rounds of sanctions last year in response to a pair of nuclear tests and multiple ballistic missile launches.
Seoul’s foreign ministry earlier issued a statement describing the latest launch as an “explicit and clear violation of related UNSC resolutions”.
A number of local media outlets reported Seoul’s military chiefs are also weighing the testing of their own advanced missiles and carrying out extra military drills with the U.S.
South Korean and American forces are due to conduct massive regular exercises beginning next month, despite a spike in tensions provoked by the spring drills in the past.
The allies could further upset North Korea this year if they go ahead with a plan to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in the South.
In a statement on Monday, Russia’s foreign ministry said it regarded North Korea's missile test as "defiant disregard" to the requirements of UNSC resolutions.
"We are convinced that there is no alternative to the settlement of Korean Peninsula issues, including [the] nuclear one," the statement read.
It said political and diplomatic means were the only possible ways to resolve outstanding issues.
Russia also called on concerned parties to exercise calm and refrain from actions which would further escalate tensions.
* Diyar Guldogan in Ankara contributed to this report.
