US condemns suspected North Korea projectile launch

Pyongyang has made rapid progress in its military technology at the cost of international sanctions

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks at a military conference in Pyongyang. AFP

The US on Wednesday condemned North Korea and urged Pyongyang to sit down for talks after South Korea's military said it fired what is "presumed to be a ballistic missile" into the sea.

"This launch is in violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and poses a threat to the DPRK's neighbours and the international community," a State Department spokesperson said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"We remain committed to a diplomatic approach to the DPRK and call on them to engage in dialogue," the official said.

In the decade since Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un took power, North Korea has made rapid progress in its military technology at the cost of international sanctions.

Despite severe economic difficulties during the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Kim said last week that the country would continue to build up its military capabilities.

In its latest apparent test, an unidentified projectile was fired into the sea east of the peninsula, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, without immediately providing further details.

In 2021, nuclear-armed North Korea said it had successfully tested a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile, a long-range cruise missile, a train-launched weapon and what it described as a hypersonic warhead.

The dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang remains stalled, following the collapse of talks between Mr Kim and former president Donald Trump in 2019.

Under Mr Trump's successor, Mr Biden, the US has repeatedly declared its willingness to meet North Korean representatives, while saying it will seek denuclearisation.

But Pyongyang has so far dismissed the offer, accusing Washington of pursuing “hostile” policies.

At the end of a key meeting of the ruling Workers' Party last week, during which Mr Kim spoke about building up defences, he did not mention the US at all.

Instead of the policy positions on diplomacy for which Mr Kim's New Year statements have been closely watched in recent years, he focused on food security and development in an extensive speech.

But he said Pyongyang would continue to boost its defence capabilities, keeping in mind “the military environment of the Korean peninsula” and the changing international situation.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends the eighth conference of military educationists of the Korean People's Army at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang. Korean Central News Agency / AFP

Kim Jong-un attends a military parade marking the ruling party congress at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang in January 2021. KCNA / AP

Kim Jong-un is applauded by a military unit after what North Korea claimed was a test firing of its 'super-large' multiple rocket launcher in November 2019. KCNA / AP

Kim Jong-un rides a horse to climb Mount Paektu in North Korea in October 2019. KCNA / AP

Kim Jong-un and former US president Donald Trump shake hands over the military demarcation line at the border village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone in June 2019. KCNA / AP

Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in raise their hands after signing a joint statement in Panmunjom in April 2018. Korea Summit Press Pool / AP

Kim Jong-un inspects a launch drill of the medium and long-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 at an undisclosed location in September 2017. KCNA / AFP

Kim Jong-un smiles with soldiers after inspecting the multiple-rocket launching drill of the women's sub-units under the Korean People's Army Unit 851 at an undisclosed location in North Korea, April 2014. KCNA / AFP

Kim Jong-un talks to former NBA star Dennis Rodman as they watch an exhibition basketball game at an indoor stadium in Pyongyang in January 2014. KCNA / AP

Kim Jong-un inspects a mass parade of the Worker-Peasant Red Guards at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang to mark the 65th anniversary of national foundation day, September 2013. KCNA / AFP

Kim Jong-un visits watch posts of KPA Unit 507 in the Kangwon province of North Korea, June 2013. KCNA / AFP

Kim Jong-un enjoys the ride as he attends the completion ceremony of the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang in July 2012. KCNA / AP

Kim Jong-un is surrounded by members of the Korean Children's Union in Pyongyang in June 2012. KCNA / AFP

Kim Jong-un attends a meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang in April 2012. KCNA / AFP

Kim Jong-un aims a gun on an inspection tour of the Sporting Bullet Factory in Pyongyang in February 2012. KCNA / AFP

Kim Jong-un salutes besides the convoy carrying the body of his father and late leader Kim Jong-il at Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang in December 2011. KCNA / AFP

Late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il with his son Kim Jong-un on the balcony as they attend a military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the communist nation's ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang, October 2010. Kyodo News / AP

Kim Il-sung with his son and chosen successor, Kim Jong-il in November 1986. KCNA / AFP

North Korea is under multiple sets of international sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, which have progressed rapidly under Mr Kim.

The impoverished nation has also been under a rigid self-imposed coronavirus blockade that has hammered its economy.

The worsening economic situation during the pandemic, however, has not blunted those programmes, and North Korea has continued to pursue weapons development, a UN report said in October.

Concerns have grown about a full-blown food crisis in North Korea, and a UN human rights expert said in October that the most vulnerable were “at risk of starvation".