Tokyo: North Korea missile capabilities are making advances

Oct. 31 (UPI) — North Korea’s missiles are improving with each test, Japan’s defense ministry said Friday.

Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono told reporters at a press briefing North Korea’s firing of two projectiles is part of Pyongyang’s strategy to improve upon weapon capabilities, NHK reported.

“North Korea is trying to acquire various missile-related capabilities through a series of launches,” Kono said. “As such, capabilities have improved.”

Japan is raising concerns regarding North Korea’s missile program as it seeks a reversal in South Korea’s decision to not renew a military intelligence-sharing agreement, GSOMIA, by the end of November.

“It is logical to cooperate properly with the United States and South Korea,” Kono said, adding Tokyo is interested in holding defense talks with Seoul during an international conference in Thailand in mid-November.

In South Korea, officials universally condemned North Korea’s missile launches, but there is debate about North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile launch capabilities.

South Korean news service News 1 reported Friday President Moon Jae-in’s national security adviser Chung Eui-yong said it would be “difficult” for North Korea to launch an ICBM from a road mobile launcher.

Chung’s assessment of North Korea’s capabilities contradicts statements from Seoul’s joint chiefs of staff, according to the report.

In Washington on Thursday, a U.S. State Department official denounced what North Korea has described as a super-large multiple-rocket launcher.

“Completely unfortunate, completely inappropriate and certainly impedes upon beyond Pyongyang’s ability to be a contributing member of the international community,” said Clarke Cooper, the State Department’s assistant secretary for political-military affairs, according to VOA.

“It is not only a threat to our friends in Tokyo and our friends in Seoul but to the rest of the Pacific region, and it certainly is put at risk beyond Pyongyang’s ability to work with not just Washington but with its neighbors.”