SEOUL: North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea on Sunday, the South’s military said, the latest in a series of launches amid tensions over US-led military exercises in the region, Yonhap reported.
The South Korean military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff announced without giving further details that the launch – the seventh in two weeks – came from the country’s southeast.
“Our military is maintaining a posture of full readiness in close cooperation with the United States, strengthening our surveillance and vigilance,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, according to Yonhap.
North Korea on Saturday defended its latest wave of missile tests as a legitimate response to US military threats, following days of joint military exercises between the South, Japan and the United States.
The Japanese prime minister’s office also confirmed at least one of Sunday’s missiles on Twitter.
“North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile. Further updates will follow,” the office said.
Japan’s Senior Vice Defense Minister Toshiro Ino said it was possible the missiles, which he said were fired just before 2:00 a.m. (1700 GMT Saturday) and had a range of 350 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 100 kilometers. The distance traveled was, according to Kyodo, launched from submarines. news agency.
According to Kyodo, the Japanese government said the missiles fired into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of ​​Japan, appeared to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. The coast guard said it had not yet received any reports of damage to Japanese vessels, national broadcaster reported.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military’s Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that it was “aware of two ballistic missile launches and is in close consultation with our allies and partners,” adding that the launch was “a sign of North Korea’s missile program.” Depicts the “unstable” nature.
“America’s commitments to the defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan remain ironclad,” the statement said.
Sunday’s launch was the latest in an upheaval that included the launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday, prompting warnings for people in affected areas to stay safe.
And on Thursday, North Korea fired two ballistic missiles, the same day Seoul, Tokyo and Washington held fresh drills involving a US Navy destroyer from the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike group.
The United States redeployed a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to waters east of South Korea as part of a wider military response to Pyongyang’s test on Tuesday, which also included joint bombing and missile exercises.
According to Yonhap, the drills between South Korea and the United States ended on Saturday.
Additionally, Seoul’s military said it shot down 30 fighter jets on Thursday when 12 North Korean warplanes conducted “a rare formation flight north of inter-Korean airspace [and] air-to-surface firing exercises.” “
Pyongyang’s foreign ministry earlier this week described the recent launches as “fair countermeasures by the Korean People’s Army”.
And on Thursday, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss Pyongyang’s overtures to Japan.
The United States called for the meeting after the launch of what officials and analysts said was a Hwasong-12 that traveled possibly the longest horizontal distance of any North Korean test.
At the meeting, China, North Korea’s longtime ally and economic benefactor, accused Washington of inciting the pace of launches by Kim Jong-un’s regime, with Geng Shuang, China’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, accusing the US of “regional security”. “Poisoning the environment”.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield called for a “strengthening” of existing sanctions on North Korea, which were vetoed by China and Russia in May.
The council has been divided for months over how to respond to Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, with Russia and China on the sympathetic side and the rest of the council pushing for punishment.
Analysts say Pyongyang has taken advantage of the UN deadlock to conduct more provocative weapons tests.
Kim has described the isolated North Korea as an “irreversible” nuclear power, effectively ending the possibility of denuclearization talks.
