North's artillery fire wasn't reported for hours

North Korea

Published: 13 Jun. 2022, 17:10 Updated: 13 Jun. 2022, 19:48

North's artillery fire wasn't reported for hours

In this photo released by Pyongyang's state-controlled Korean Central News Agency, North Korea conducts an artillery firing drill with 122 mm mortars on March 13. [YONHAP]

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) belatedly disclosed Sunday evening that North Korea fired artillery rounds earlier in the day, explaining its delay on the fact that such launches do not violate United Nations resolutions.

The JCS said in a text message sent to reporters on Sunday evening that the South Korean military detected several projectile “trajectories,” believed to be artillery rounds, between 8:07 a.m. and 11:03 a.m.

In a later update, the JCS said North Korea fired five artillery rounds into the Yellow Sea from its western coast, with the mortars estimated to be between 122mm and 240mm in diameter.

The JCS announced the launches about 10 hours after they took place, raising questions about the reasons for the delay.

"A ballistic missile launch would constitute a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, so such an event is announced immediately, but those measures are not applicable to artillery rounds,” said a JCS official who spoke on condition of anonymity to reporters.

While Security Council resolutions against Pyongyang do only apply to tests of ballistic missile technology, the JCS has previously informed reporters of tests of other weapon types by the North, albeit with some delay as well.

South Korean defense officials came under fire in late January for reacting a day late to a North Korean cruise missile test — after media outlets had already reported their occurrence.

Late acknowledgements of North Korean weapons tests, such as the January cruise missile launch, have raised questions about the military’s readiness and detection capabilities.

The delay in the JCS announcement about Sunday’s artillery rounds by the North aroused other suspicions.

Earlier in the day, President Yoon Suk-yeol was spotted at a cinema with First Lady Kim Keon-hee to attend a screening of the Palme d’Or-nominated film “Broker,” leading a member of the rival Democratic Party (DP) to accuse him of “watching movies and eating popcorn” amid a building security crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

“North Korea fired artillery rounds yesterday, but the JCS and the presidential office announced their occurrence almost 10 hours later, which leads me to believe the announcement was delayed to not interfere with the president’s film viewing,” wrote DP lawmaker Lee Won-wook in a post on his Facebook page on Monday.

Lee berated Yoon for his handling of the presidency.

“I am confused as to whether we elected a president, or rather a celebrity who is masquerading as a president in front of the media,” Lee said.

On his way into the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul on Monday, Yoon told reporters there was no need for concern over his whereabouts and activities the previous day.

“If the artillery rounds fired were on the same level as a missile launch, we would have taken appropriate measures,” Yoon said. “Yesterday’s artillery barrage was not as serious as a missile test, so we responded accordingly.

“There is no need to have misgivings,” Yoon told reporters.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]