Joint Chiefs of Staff: "We Don't Announce Every North Korean Projectile Launch... Decisions Based on Comprehensive Assessment, Including Security"

North Korean state media reports missile launch
JCS: "South Korea and the U.S. are conducting an in-depth precision analysis in close coordination"

Yonhap News

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it does not announce every projectile launch and makes such announcements based on comprehensive military assessments, explaining why it did not immediately release information about the ballistic missile North Korea launched on October 31.

At a regular briefing on November 2, Jang Doyoung, director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Public Affairs Office, said, "Our military does not announce every projectile launched by North Korea. Whether to make an announcement is determined through a comprehensive military assessment that takes into account the protection of our military's surveillance and reconnaissance assets and capabilities, as well as operational security."

North Korea's state media reported on November 1 that the country had launched a "tactical ballistic missile with a cluster-munition warhead" on October 31. The Joint Chiefs of Staff, which has typically detected North Korean ballistic missile launches in real time and notified the media, did not immediately release information about this launch. After North Korea's report, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said it "had been tracking related activity and maintaining readiness even before North Korea launched the missile."

Jang said, "In this case, South Korea and the United States were closely coordinating on an in-depth precision analysis of the missile's characteristics and specifications. We ask for your understanding that we exercised caution in notifying the media accordingly."

Asked whether the principle is to announce a North Korean ballistic missile launch on the same day, Jang said, "It is true that we have issued announcements because ballistic missile launches violate UN Security Council sanctions. In this case, however, an in-depth precision analysis was necessary." North Korea's ballistic missile launches currently violate UN Security Council Resolution 1718, a sanctions resolution against North Korea adopted in 2006.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.