Rival ballistic missiles tests this week by both nations signaled an escalating arms race rather than the careful drawdown the leaders once pledged. On Wednesday, it fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea to its east. “Given everything that South Korea did over the past three years, no progress has been made,” she said. South Korea’s increased defense spending in recent years is likely aimed at assuaging that fear ahead of next year’s presidential elections. Kim of the Asan Institute said South Korea was looking beyond the peninsula in bulking up its defense.

Source: Los Angeles Times September 17, 2021 09:00 UTC