(Photo courtesy of Geoawesomeness) “Map of Korean Peninsula including both North Korea and South Korea.”
Steven O’Hara
Connector Editor
On September 29th, North Korea launched two missiles toward Japan: one landing on the coast of the Pacific Ocean and the other landing in North Korean territory. The motivation for their actions are unclear, however, it’s thought that they had been in response to local military activity.
This altercation isn’t a singular occurrence, two days before, for the first time in five years, North Korea had fired missiles over Japan; they fired 40 ballistic missiles over a period of 20 launchings. Renato Fakhoury is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in global studies who studied South East Asia and the Korean Peninsula as his undergrad. He gave some valuable insight into this topic, saying, “There are three reasons that we can rank for North Korea being at all times launching missiles. So politically it can be seen as a reaction because Vice President Kamala Harris was visiting South Korea and Japan last week and that’s when she also made statements in support of the US extending security commitments to its allies. Also, the US had been conducting joint military exercises with South Korea and Japan in that region, and that included the deployment of The USS Ronald Reagan- which is this really big nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and, so it was in that region… that also just helped to overload the Biden administration’s plate in relation to everything that’s happening.” When asked about the possibility of further conflict, Fakhoury had this to say, “I don’t think it’s going towards that. It of course contributes to instability in that region, but I wouldn’t go so far into saying that there is going to be military action… taken by either sides so soon.”
The two missiles launched caused no human casualties and landed in a secluded oceanic area. However, this launch could possibly impact the natural ecosystems they had landed in. Professor Lori Weeden, a UMass Lowell professor of environmental science, gave her professional observation on the plausible effects, “Depending on where it falls, it could damage the benthic life, which is the life at the bottom of the ocean. Obviously, that’s never a good thing. Saltwater is very corrosive, so anything that is made out of metal will likely begin to decay in the ocean releasing all of the chemicals that are held within. So that’s a problem. Especially if there’s any, you know, nuclear material in there. The fuels are very toxic, and so, like all of those things combined, make it never a great idea.” This explosive landed at the bottom of the ocean but did not explode. The longer it stays where it is, the more time it has to break down and pollute the coastal Japanese environment. The physical missile isn’t the only part of the situation that can cause ecological damage.
“The most important thing is, regardless of success, to recognize that vapors that come from launches create acid rain and create holes in the ozone, you know, I mean, they might be temporary, but they’re still there. And if they have any sort of fluorinated or chlorinated compounds that go into the atmosphere, they could affect the area for a really long time,” said Professor Weeden. During the duration of the missile launch, the gasses and gaseous chemicals that release from the weapon impact the earth’s atmosphere which creates a detriment to the overall area. Its overall impact on the ever going presence of climate change is another notable effect–one that could be enhanced by these ozone-depleting chemicals and increase the severity of the global situation.
On a local level, this launching affects the UMass Lowell Community as well. One student had thoughts on the matter and offered their own input. Sam Paolini, a sophomore biomedical engineering student, when asked about his reaction to the events had said, “At first, I had no idea what to make of it. And quite frankly, I’m still not entirely sure. But, I personally don’t think anything major will come of it.” At the prompt of how this launch had affected school life, he said, “At this point, major events that society thinks pose a major threat to security– feels like an almost every day occurrence. So I’m probably a little desensitized and don’t really feel like it affected much of me at all.”
With global tensions high and uncertainty constant, the next actions to be taken by either side are unclear. As North Korea has a history with missile launching, it seems to be a regular Thursday for the rest of the world. However, national meetings are currently underway and officials are deciding what steps need to be taken for overall security to be accomplished.
