South's peace overtures answered by North's ballistic missile launch

President Moon Jae-in speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony for railway construction to connect Gangneung and Jejin of Gangwon Province, a part of the inter-Korean railroad connection project based upon the 2018 Panmunjeom Declaration adopted by Moon and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, held at Jejin Station in Goseong, Gangwon Province, Wednesday. Yonhap

Pyongyang fires ballistic missile into sea off east coast

By Jung Da-min

The Moon Jae-in government is making last-ditch efforts for progress on its inter-Korean peace drive before President Moon's term ends in about five months, but Pyongyang is remaining unresponsive to Seoul's continued calls for dialogue.

Rather, North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Wednesday morning, marking this year's first missile launch. This launch coincided with Moon's attendance at a groundbreaking ceremony for the railroad construction to connect Gangneung and Jejin of Gangwon Province, a part of the inter-Korean railroad connection project based upon the 2018 Panmunjeom Declaration adopted by Moon and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un.

According to the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), North Korea fired a projectile presumed to be a ballistic missile at around 8:10 a.m. into the sea off its east coast from Jagang Province. The JCS said the South Korean and U.S. militaries are currently analyzing details of the missile launch but are yet to provide further details such as range or speed of the missile.

Some defense watchers said the timing of the North's latest missile launch was rather unexpected, as they had forecast no missile launches until after February's Beijing Winter Olympics. But others said it was not a surprise as the North has repeatedly said it would continue developing missiles and nuclear weapons and that such weapons development requires continued tests.

Shin Jong-woo, a senior researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, said Pyongyang seemed to be assured that its missile launch would not bring strong opposition from China, while the Olympics event itself has failed to draw big attention internationally amid the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

"The missile launch could also be used as a bargaining chip when the North engages in negotiations with the South's next government after the South elects a new president in March," Shin said. "There have been many signs of economic hardships in the North including the news that Kim Jong-un gave fish to Pyongyang residents as presents. In that respect, the missile launch is also aimed at strengthening internal solidarity among the people of North Korea."

Moon Sung-mook, a senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, said the weapons development is the only "successful" policy that the North Korean leader could promote as his administrative achievement, while the country is apparently suffering an agriculture crisis based on reports by media and international organizations.

"There was no message from Kim Jong-un toward South Korea or the U.S. in the ruling Workers' Party of Korea plenum in late December. Pyongyang has been remaining unresponsive to the Moon government's call for an end-of-war declaration and the latest missile launch is just another sign that there are no changes in Pyongyang's stance on the matter, that they want withdrawal of what they call hostile policies by South Korea and the U.S. such as joint military drills. But the U.S. government has said the U.S.-South Korea joint drills in March would be conducted as scheduled," Moon said.

"Besides, when China and Russia are against adopting any additional sanctions against North Korea, the United Nations Security Council is not likely to put additional sanctions against Pyongyang. Kim Jong-un would find it as good timing, when the South's Moon government is also trying not to offend the North to keep the momentum for dialogue."

President Moon Jae-in and other officials applaud during a groundbreaking ceremony for a railway construction project to connect Gangneung and Jejin of Gangwon Province, a part of the inter-Korean railroad connection project based upon the 2018 Panmunjeom Declaration adopted by Moon and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, held at Jejin Station in Goseong, Gangwon Province, Wednesday. Yonhap

Hours after the missile launch, Cheong Wa Dae held a National Security Council (NSC) meeting. But the participants, which did not include Moon, only expressed "concerns" over the launch of the projectile while not using stronger words like "provocation." The NSC members also said resuming inter-Korean dialogue is important to resolve the strained inter-Korean relations and tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Attending a groundbreaking ceremony for a train line extension in Gangwon Province, President Moon said the project would serve as a stepping stone for the inter-Korean railroad connection project, while further promoting inter-Korean economic cooperation.

The construction for the 111.74-kilometer section between Gangneung Station and Jejin Station, the northernmost station on the east coastal railroad in South Korean territory, is expected to be completed by the end of 2027, with a 2.7 trillion won ($2.3 billion) budget.

Linking the eastern coastal railway between the two Koreas has been sought since the 2000 inter-Korean summit. They agreed again on the link in the Panmunjeom Declaration of 2018.

"Peace on the Korean Peninsula does not come by itself and tensions are sometimes created on the Korean Peninsula," Moon said, referring to the North's missile launch.

"There are concerns that this could create tension and deepen the stalemate in inter-Korean relations," Moon said. "However, we must not let go of the chance for dialogue to fundamentally overcome this situation. North Korea should also make more serious efforts for dialogue. When the two Koreas work together and trust is built between them, peace will come to our side one day."