In their joint statement after the 56th U.S.-South Korea Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Washington, D.C., South Korea's Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin denounced the North's "multiple missile launches, including ballistic missiles, its attempted launches of a space launch vehicle." They also criticized North Korea's troop deployment "as clear violations of existing U.N. Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs)."
Recently, South Korea and NATO confirmed that Pyongyang has deployed soldiers to the frontlines near the Ukraine border to support Russian military forces, though Russia continues to deny the presence of North Korean troops there.
Expressing concerns about the deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea following a military pact signed during Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang in June, the two defense leaders pledged to work closely with the international community to address the issue.
Kim and Austin are set to join South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a 2+2 foreign and defense ministerial meeting in the coming day, the first such gathering since 2021.
Meanwhile, a few hours after the SCM meeting, North Korea launched a suspected long-range missile from a site near Pyongyang into the East Sea at approximately 7:10 a.m. (2210 GMT), according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
South Korea's military command suspects the missile is an upgraded Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. During the test, the missile reportedly reached an altitude of more than 7,000 kilometers (4,349 miles) and remained in flight for 86 minutes.
Commenting on the launch, a JCS spokesperson said, "Our initial assessment suggests that North Korea may have test-fired a new solid-fuel long-range ballistic missile. There is also the possibility that it was launched from the recently revealed 12-axle mobile missile launcher (TEL), and we are conducting further analysis."
