The Washington Post - USA (2022-06-07)

A16 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.TUESDAY, JUNE 7 , 2022

BY MICHELLE YE HEE LEE

tokyo — The U.S. and South
Korean militaries test-fired eight
ballistic missiles on Monday,
matching North Korea’s weapons
tests the day before, in a stern
show of force marking the hard-
ening line toward Pyongyang.
U.S. Forces Korea and the
South Korean military fired one
U.S. missile and seven South Ko-
rean missiles eastward into the
sea to demonstrate the countries’
ability to “respond quickly to cri-
sis events,” the U.S. military said
Monday.
On Sunday, North Korea fired
off a battery of eight short-range
missiles, as it continues to build
and test new weapons to evade
existing missile defense systems.
It was the 18th round of missile
launches in 2022 alone. Pyong-
yang has conducted an unprec-
edented number of tests, in line
with leader Kim Jong Un’s five-
year plan for the program.
“The South Korea-U.S. com-
bined firing of the ground-to-
ground missiles demonstrated
the capability and posture to
launch immediate precision
strikes on the origins of provoca-
tions, even if North Korea launch-
es missiles from various loca-
tions,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs
of Staff said Monday.
Monday’s response by the Unit-
ed States and South Korea under-
scores the countries’ intent to act
in lockstep with North Korea’s
missile tests — a shift since the
inauguration of South Korea’s
new conservative president, Yoon
Suk-yeol, who has vowed to take a
firmer approach to the North
than his pro-engagement pred-
ecessor.
“Even at this moment, North
Korea’s nuclear and missile
threats are getting sophisticated,”
Yoon said Monday. “North Ko-
rea’s nuclear and missile [pro-
grams] are reaching the level of
threatening not only peace on the
Korean Peninsula but also in
Northeast Asia and the world.”
The U.S. and South Korean

militaries launched ground-to-

ground Army Tactical Missile Sys-

tem (ATACMS) missiles from

South Korea’s northeastern

Gangwon province, firing eight

missiles within a 10-minute peri-

od starting at 4:45 a.m., South

Korea’s military said.

North Korea on Sunday fired

eight suspected ballistic missiles

east into the ocean within a 35-

minute period from 9:08 a.m.

from four locations, the South

Korean military said.

In response, Japan’s Self-De-

fense Forces on Sunday held a

joint military drill with the Unit-

ed States. Japanese Defense Min-

ister Nobuo Kishi said North Ko-

rea’s actions “cannot be tolerat-

ed.”

North Korea has not yet re-

leased information about its lat-

est launch. The reclusive country

has halted the regular release of

information about its missile

tests in recent weeks.

Last week, the U.S. and South

Korean militaries held a three-

day naval exercise in internation-

al waters off Okinawa aimed at

reinforcing the allies’ response to

North Korea’s mounting weapons

ambitions, the South Korean mil-

itary said.

The joint drill was the first in

more than four years, underscor-

ing efforts by the Yoon govern-

ment to align closely with the

United States on matters related

to North Korea. Pyongyang views

the exercises as “hostile” acts

toward the country and cites

them as reasons to continue de-

veloping its weapons capabilities.

Intelligence officials from the

United States, South Korea and

Japan have said that North Korea

appears to have completed prepa-

rations for its seventh nuclear

test, which would be the first

since 2017.

Officials from the United

States, South Korea and Japan

met in Seoul on Friday to rein-

force ties amid signs of the up-

coming nuclear test. The United

States has proposed greater sanc-

tions on North Korea for its viola-

tions of U.N. Security Council

resolutions banning ballistic mis-

sile tests.

Relations between the United

States and North Korea have re-

mained deadlocked since 2019,

when nuclear negotiations fell

apart.

The Biden administration so

far has not shown a willingness to

give North Korea the sanctions

relief it seeks. Yoon has said the

“ball is in Chairman Kim’s court”

to jump-start negotiations again.

Kim has not indicated any desire

to engage with either country in

the absence of sanctions relief.

Min Joo Kim in Seoul contributed to

this report.

U.S., S. Korea match North’s m issiles

SOUTH KOREA'S JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

U.S. and South Korean forces launch Army Tactical Missile System missiles eastward into the sea.

North Korea fired eight suspected ballistic missiles into the ocean on Sunday, military officials said.

Show of force marks

hardening line a day

after Pyongyang’s tests

“Even at this moment,

North Korea’s nuclear

and missile threats are

getting sophisticated.”

Yoon Suk-yeol,

president of South Korea

BY BORSO TALL

AND LESLEY WROUGHTON

dakar, senegal — The first

shots rang out as Mass was draw-

ing to a close at the small church in

the Nigerian town of Owo.

“The bomb exploded, and we

were surrounded everywhere —

they surrounded the church,” said

50-year-old Shalom, who was

among the worshipers at St. Fran-

cis Xavier Catholic Church on Sun-

day when it was stormed by gun-

men who opened fire on the pan-

icked crowd and detonated explo-

sives. She declined to give her last

name for fear of reprisals. “I man-

aged to escape, and I didn’t see

their faces. It was horrible,” she

added, saying she lost count of the

dead as she rushed to safety.

Dozens were feared killed and

scores injured in the attack in the

southwestern state of Ondo,

where religious violence is rare.

Graphic videos from the scene

show bloodied bodies on the floor,

including women and children.

Local media put the death toll

as high as 50, but police have yet to

confirm the figure or release full

details of the attack. No group has

asserted responsibility.

Most violence in Nigeria has

taken place in the northeast,

where Boko Haram has waged an

Islamist insurgency for more than

a decade, regularly attacking

churches and kidnapping school-

children. Tens of thousands of

people have been killed in the

region and millions displaced.

Violence in the southwest, by con-

trast, has mainly been marked by

kidnappings for ransom and con-

flict between farmers and herders

from the Yoruba ethnic group.

Security was visibly tighter

across Ondo state on Monday, wit-

nesses told The Washington Post.

“All hands are on deck to forestall

any similar attack in any part of

the state,” an Ondo police spokes-

man said in a statement.

The Rev. Augustine Ikwu, com-

munications director for the Dio-

cese of Ondo, denied reports that

the attackers had kidnapped a

priest and members of the congre-

gation, and said Nigerian security

forces have been deployed to Owo.

“All the priests in the parish are

safe and none was kidnapped,”

Ikwu said in a statement quoted

by Vatican News. “The Bishop of

the diocese is also with them at

this trying time.”

The Vatican said Pope Francis

was praying “for the victims and

the country, painfully affected at a

time of celebration.” Sunday was

the Christian holiday of Pentecost.

Nigerian President Muham-

madu Buhari vowed to tackle the

security crisis when he was elected

in 2015 but has struggled to put an

end to the violence. “No matter

what, this country shall never give

in to evil and wicked people, and

darkness will never overcome

light,” he said Monday. “Nigeria

will eventually win.”

While the attack was the first of

its kind in Ondo state, it fits a larger

pattern of communal violence

across Nigeria, according to

Ebenezer Obadare, a senior fellow

for African studies at the Council on

Foreign Relations in Washington.

“Whoever orchestrated this

wanted to send a religious mes-

sage,” he said. While he doubted

Boko Haram was responsible, he

said it was worrying that other

groups may be trying to use the

same tactics to terrorize the coun-

try’s Christian community. “In

saying this is not Boko Haram, we

can’t say this does not have a reli-

gious connotation.”

Wroughton reported from Cape To wn,

South Africa.

Deadly church attack

rattles N igerian town

Dozens are f eared killed

in part of country where

religious violence is rare

“No matter what,

this country shall never

give in to evil and

wicked people, and

darkness will never

overcome light.”

Nigerian President

Muhammadu Buhari

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