What do we know about South Korea's missile tests?
1:42
(CNN Spanish) -
In less than three hours, the sky over the Korean peninsula and its contiguous waters was crossed by three ballistic missiles.
North Korea fired first: two unidentified ballistic missiles fell - in a test shot - in the waters east of the peninsula at 12:38 pm and 12:43 pm local time (11:38 pm and 11:43 pm ET) on Wednesday, according to the Japan Coast Guard.
Satellite images show enriched uranium plant expansion in North Korea
Then it was South Korea's turn, which just under three hours after its neighbor's first weapons test tested a ballistic missile that hit the target "with precision," the South Korean Defense Ministry said.
In this case there was a novelty: it was a new ballistic missile (SLBM) launched from a submerged submarine, the Dosan Ahn Changho.
South Korea had not mastered this technology so far.
What arsenals do North and South Korea have, countries that have faced each other for decades and that share a peninsula surrounded by China, Russia and Japan?
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Renewed tensions, latent history
This recent arms test exchange renewed tensions on the Korean peninsula, which seems to have had no truce since the 1950-1953 war that would lead to its division.
At that time, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), supported by a UN coalition led by the United States, clashed with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), assisted by China and with the support of the Soviet Union. .
The war ended with an armistice signed between North Korea, China, and the UN - South Korea refused to sign - that remains to this day.
And on the border between North and South Korea, around the 38th parallel, runs the so-called Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), patrolled by both countries.
What do we know about South Korea's missile tests?
1:42
The war left almost 3 million people dead or missing.
North Korea's nuclear weapons
Tensions and occasional threats continued during the Cold War, but the situation escalated to an unthinkable level when North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, becoming the last country in the world to acquire an atomic arsenal.
Since then it has conducted a total of six nuclear tests, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), the last in 2017.
According to estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the country is believed to have between 40 and 50 nuclear warheads.
North Korea reportedly expanding enriched uranium plant 0:53
South Korea, on the other hand, does not have nuclear weapons.
Although it does have the military support of the United States, which maintains bases in the country.
Ballistic Missile Stockpiles
Pyongyang also accelerated its development of short, medium and intermediate range ballistic missiles, as well as intercontinental range (ICBM) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
These missiles, especially ICBMs, can carry both conventional explosive warheads and nuclear warheads.
According to data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), North Korea currently has 14 models of operational ballistic missiles - including the Hwasong-14, with an estimated range of 10,400 kilometers - and another 7 under development.
As a consequence of these developments in nuclear-capable weapons and the advancement of its atomic program - prohibited by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which North Korea left in 2003, among other agreements - the UN has imposed numerous sanctions on North Korea - the last in 2017 - as well as the United States.
What's Behind North Korea's Missile Test?
2:52
North Korea has rejected these sanctions and accused the United States of raising tensions.
"Possession of nuclear weapons and ICBMs is a legitimate option for self-defense in the face of the clear and real nuclear threat posed by the United States," Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said in 2017.
South Korea, on the other hand, maintains 9 models of operational ballistic missiles - including a new version of the Hyunmoo-2B missile, launched from a submarine this week - and another 2 in development, according to the CSIS.
Of soldiers, tanks and submarines
As for conventional forces, both North and South Korea maintain large armies, according to the Global Firepower survey.
In the case of North Korea, it can deploy 1.3 million soldiers, almost 1,000 aircraft (including attack aircraft, bombers, transports and fighters), more than 6,000 tanks and 36 submarines.
While South Korea maintains about 600,000 soldiers, 1,500 aircraft (including attack aircraft, bombers, transporters and fighters), 2,000 tanks and 22 submarines, among other weapons.
North Korea South Korea
