WASHINGTON: The United States and South Korea held high-level talks on Thursday after North Korea test-fired one of its newest and most powerful missiles, demonstrating its threat to the US mainland days ahead of elections.

The weapons test was the first since North Korea was accused of sending troops to Russia to support the invasion of Ukraine, triggering alarm and warnings by Washington, Seoul and European countries.

North Korea’s latest actions were certain to top the agenda as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin opened previously scheduled joint talks with their South Korean counterparts in Washington.

South Korea, which previously said that the North was preparing a missile or even nuclear test ahead of US elections on Tuesday, said Pyongyang appeared to have fired a solid-propelled long-range ballistic missile. It flew 1,000 kilometers after being fired on a lofted trajectory — meaning up, not out, the South Korean military said.

Developing advanced solid-fuel missiles — which are quicker to launch and harder to detect and destroy in advance — has long been a goal for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Kim called the sanctions-defying launch “an appropriate military action that fully meets the purpose of informing the rivals... of our counteraction will,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2024