North Korea carries out first missile launch test since Trump’s election

North Korea test fired a ballistic missile for the first time since President-elect Trump secured re-election on Monday.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s regime last launched a missile test on Nov. 5 as Americans were headed to the polls.

Monday’s test is another sign that Kim apparently has no plans to develop a closer relationship with Trump than he had with President Biden.

The test comes more than a week after North Korea’s ruling party held its annual meeting in Pyongyang.

State media outlet KCNA said party leaders condemned ongoing partnerships between the US, Japan and South Korea, as a “nuclear military bloc.”

“This reality clearly shows to which direction we should advance and what we should do and how,” the Workers’ Party of Korea said in a statement.

The meeting came as North Korea faces mounting tension with Western governments after sending troops to assist in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this fall.

A South Korean TV broadcast showing a North Korean missile test on Jan. 6, 2024. AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

Kim’s regime also condemned South Korea as an “anti-communist outpost” following this week’s meetings, a reference to President Yoon Suk-Yeoul’s attempt to impose martial law in December.

North Korea had remained silent for roughly a week after Yoon’s attempt, which was foiled by the nation’s legislature.

Kim Jong Un’s regime finally commented on the issue through its state-run news outlet on Dec. 11.

Monday’s ballistic missile launch was North Korea’s first since President-elect Trump was elected. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

“The shocking incident of the puppet Yoon Suk Yeol regime, which was faced with a serious governance crisis and an impeachment crisis, suddenly declared a martial law decree and unhesitatingly wielded the guns and knives of its fascist dictatorship,” KCNA said in a report.

“The international community is sternly watching, with assessments that the martial law incident exposed vulnerabilities in South Korean society … and that Yoon Suk Yeol’s political life could face an early end,” KCNA added.

South Korea’s legislature impeached Yoon soon after his power grab, and a national court is deliberating over whether to uphold his removal.