Highlight
- The launches were carried out on Thursday morning 22 minutes from the capital region of the north
- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also confirmed the North Korean missile launch
- He said firing with weapons is “absolutely intolerable”.
North Korea on Thursday fired two ballistic missiles towards its eastern waters. The development comes after the United States redeployed one of its aircraft carriers near the Korean peninsula in response to the North’s recent launch of a powerful missile over Japan.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the launch took place on Thursday morning 22 minutes from the north’s capital region.
It said South Korea has increased its surveillance posture and maintains readiness in close coordination with the United States.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also confirmed the North Korean missile launch, saying the firing from the weapons was “absolutely intolerable”.
Thursday’s launch was North Korea’s sixth round of weapons firing in less than two weeks, which has been condemned by the United States and other countries.
North Korea on Tuesday fired a medium-range missile over Japan for the first time in five years, forcing the Japanese government to issue an evacuation alert and stop trains.
It was North Korea’s most provocative weapons display in years. Experts said the weapon was probably the Hwasong-12 missile capable of reaching the US Pacific region of Guam and beyond.
Thursday’s launch came as the US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan returned to waters east of South Korea, which South Korea’s military called an attempt to demonstrate the Allies’ “determination” to counter the North’s continued provocations and threats. Told.
The carrier was in the area last week as part of exercises between South Korea and the United States and other training from allies linked to Japan. North Korea considers such US-led exercises near the peninsula as a rehearsal for aggression.
The United States and South Korea are also responding to North Korean tests with their own live-fire exercises, which have so far included ground-to-surface ballistic missiles and precision-guided bombs dropped from fighter jets.
However, one of the tit-for-tat launches nearly caused havoc early Wednesday, when a malfunctioning South Korean Humu-2 missile flipped shortly after liftoff and crashed into an air force base in the eastern coastal city of Gangneung.
South Korea’s military said there were no casualties and civilian facilities were not affected.
Following Tuesday’s launch, the United States, Britain, France, Albania, Norway and Ireland called an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
North Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday that it “strongly condemns the escalation of military tensions on the Korean peninsula by the Korean People’s Army on a South Korea-US joint exercise.”
North Korea conducted a record number of missile tests this year amid long-stalled diplomacy with the United States.
Observers say North Korea aims to expand its nuclear arsenal to take advantage of it in future talks with the United States.
(with inputs from AP)