North Korea has fired eight short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, a day after South Korea and the United States ended military exercises with a U.S. aircraft carrier.
Possibly setting a one-day record for North Korean ballistic launches, the missiles were fired consecutively for 35 minutes on Sunday from at least four different locations, including from western and eastern coastal areas and two inland areas in the north. near the capital, Pyongyang. , said South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff.
He said the missiles flew 110 to 670 kilometers (68 to 416 miles) at maximum altitudes of 25 to 80 kilometers while reaching speeds of mach 3 to 6.
In response, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol convened a meeting of the National Security Council and ordered “expanding the deterrence of South Korea and the United States and continuing to strengthen the united defense stance.”
The meeting concluded that the launch of the missile was North Korea’s “test and challenge” of security preparedness for the new South Korean administration, which took office last month.
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said the act “cannot be tolerated.” Kishi said none of the missiles fell within Japan’s exclusive economic zone, but at least one missile had a variable trajectory, indicating it could maneuver to evade missile defenses.
On Saturday, USS nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan concluded a three-day naval drill with South Korea in the Philippine Sea, apparently its first joint drill with a carrier since November 2017.
Pyongyang’s launch also followed a visit to Seoul by US Special Representative for North Korean Affairs Sung Kim on Saturday.
He met with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts Kim Gunn and Takehiro Funakoshi on Friday to prepare for “all contingencies” amid signals that North Korea was preparing to conduct a nuclear test for the first time. since 2017.
Washington has made it very clear directly to Pyongyang that it is open to diplomacy, Kim said during the visit, noting that it was willing to discuss issues of interest to Pyongyang, such as easing sanctions.
Last week, the United States called for more UN sanctions on North Korea for its ballistic missile launches, but China and Russia vetoed the suggestion.
Sunday’s launch was Pyongyang’s 18th round of missile tests in 2022 alone, a streak that has included the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missile demonstrations in nearly five years.
South Korean and US officials say there are indications that North Korea is also making progress with preparations for its nuclear test camp in the northeastern city of Punggye-ri. The North’s next nuclear test would be the seventh since 2006 and the first since September 2017, when it claimed to have detonated a thermonuclear bomb to fit its ICBMs.
Joint U.S. and South Korean naval exercises in the international waters of the Japanese island of Okinawa included air defense, anti-ship, anti-submarine, and maritime interdiction operations. Yoon, who took office on May 10, had agreed with U.S. President Joe Biden to step up bilateral military exercises to deter North Korea.
North Korea has criticized previous joint exercises as an example of Washington’s continued “hostile policies” toward Pyongyang.
With Reuters and Associated Press