North Korea fires ballistic missile days before APEC leaders meet in South Korea
North Korea launched at least one ballistic missile on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, in a stark reminder that Pyongyang’s weapons programme remains central to regional security even as world leaders prepare to gather in South Korea for an APEC summit next week.
- Advertisement -
What happened
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff described the projectile as an “unidentified” missile that flew eastward, saying it was North Korea’s first such launch since President Lee Jae‑myung took office in June. Details about the type of missile, the exact number fired and its altitude were not immediately released.
The timing is notable: the launch came roughly a week before the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Gyeongju, where US President Donald Trump and other world leaders are expected to attend. Gyeongju, an ancient capital famed for its cultural heritage, is an unusual backdrop for high‑stakes diplomacy — and for a reminder from Pyongyang that its strategic capabilities will be part of the agenda even if the summit’s focus is trade and cooperation.
Why this matters
The incident underscores two overlapping trends. First, North Korea has steadily advanced its missile technology, most visibly this month when state media unveiled what it called its “most powerful” intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong‑20, during a military parade attended by senior officials from Russia and China.
Second, Pyongyang has pursued solid‑fuel engines and missiles in recent tests — technologies that are easier to conceal and can be launched more rapidly than older liquid‑fuel systems. In September, North Korean state media said it had completed the ninth and final test of a solid‑fuel engine, a development analysts have warned could clear the way for a full flight test of a new long‑range missile within months.
“Solid‑fuel engines change the operational calculus,” said a former diplomat who has tracked North Korea for decades. “They make detection and pre‑emption harder and give Pyongyang more options for coercive signalling.”
What Pyongyang says
State media has framed recent developments as a deliberate display of strength. Leader Kim Jong‑un has boasted of new capabilities and, while signalling a cautious openness to diplomacy, has made clear he will not part with his nuclear arsenal. In September, state media quoted Mr Kim saying he had “fond memories” of former US President Donald Trump and that he would meet again if Washington abandoned what he called its “delusional obsession with denuclearisation” and accepted the reality of peaceful coexistence.
That caveat — essentially demanding recognition of North Korea as a nuclear power if talks are to resume — remains a fundamental obstacle. The United States and its allies have, for decades, insisted on denuclearisation as the precondition for normalising relations, while Pyongyang has used its arsenal as leverage to extract concessions and security guarantees.
Diplomatic backdrop and the APEC variable
North Korea’s missile activities have long complicated diplomacy in Northeast Asia. Pyongyang tested long‑range missiles that analysts say could reach parts of the continental United States in recent years, and it has weathered multiple rounds of UN sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear and missile programmes. High‑profile summits between Kim and Trump in 2018 and 2019 raised hopes of a breakthrough, but talks collapsed in Hanoi in 2019 over mutual demands and mistrust.
The missile launch before an event hosting dozens of heads of state raises immediate questions: will the demonstrative act force APEC leaders to address security concerns alongside economic priorities? Could it derail any informal meetings between the United States and China, or between Washington and Seoul?
For South Korea, the stakes are personal as well as strategic. President Lee Jae‑myung, who took office in June, faces early tests of his approach to North Korea and alliance management. Any missile activity near a major summit will test Seoul’s ability to balance deterrence with diplomacy on the world stage.
What comes next
It is likely that Seoul, Washington and Tokyo will monitor Pyongyang’s next moves closely. If the solid‑fuel engine programme proceeds to a full ICBM test, the international response would be swift: more condemnations, possible tightening of sanctions, and renewed urgency among allied capitals to coordinate their responses.
But the launch also raises a broader question about the international community’s leverage. Sanctions and diplomatic pressure have had mixed results. North Korea’s statements this year show a willingness to talk under terms that preserve its deterrent. That posture tests a world already divided over how to integrate or isolate countries that challenge non‑proliferation norms.
As leaders prepare to convene in Gyeongju’s historic setting — where polished stone pagodas and millennia‑old relics stand in contrast to the modern choreography of global summits — spectators will be watching whether the missile launch becomes another episodic provocation or a pivot point that reshapes talks about security, trade and the fragile architecture of East Asian diplomacy.
One question remains for delegates and citizens alike: can a gathering built to promote economic cooperation also serve as a platform to quiet a neighbour’s most dangerous signals, or will it simply underscore how entwined economics and security have become in the region?
Details about the launch remain limited. South Korea’s military and allied partners are expected to release further updates as they analyse the flight path and the missile’s characteristics.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
