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Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its eastern coast on Wednesday, September 28, the South Korean military reported. The launch came just a day before US Vice President Kamala Harris’s official visit to Seoul, where she will meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol and later she will head to the tense border with North Korea.
North Korea does not cease its arms threats. Ten minutes apart, Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles from its capital region toward its east coast on September 28. This was stated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff of neighboring South Korea.
The launches took place a day before US Vice President Kamala Harris visits Seoul. The representative of the Joe Biden Government is scheduled to travel to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the tense border between the two countries that remains heavily guarded.
The projectiles flew about 360 km between 6:10 and 6:20 pm, local time, reached an altitude of 30 km and a maximum speed of 7,450 km/h, said the military institution, adding that it is carrying out a detailed analysis of what happened.
“North Korea’s provocations will further strengthen South Korea’s and the United States’ deterrence and response capabilities and will only deepen North Korea’s isolation from the international community,” the South Korean military said in a statement.
It’s the second ballistic missile launch in a week after North Korea test-fired one surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missile from the western inland town of Taechon on Sunday. https://t.co/ETvDzYfpVw
— ABC News (@ABC) September 28, 2022
These shots were recorded two days after forces from Seoul and its ally, the United States, carried out a military drill in waters off the east coast of South Korea with an aircraft carrier. It happened after Pyongyang fired another ballistic missile into the sea off its eastern coast last Sunday, September 25.
An association seen as an attempt to underline the strength of the alliance between Washington and Seoul and the commitment of the Western power to “stand by” South Korea in the face of any threat from North Korea.
On several occasions, North Korean President Kim Jong Un has claimed that his development of nuclear weapons and missiles is intended to “defend” his country against what he sees as threats from the United States.
Faced with the latest North Korean launch, South Korea’s national security council held an emergency meeting and condemned the ballistic test. Seoul vowed to continue developing an “overwhelming” capacity to deter its northern neighbor, President Yoon Suk-yeol’s office stressed.
Japan’s coast guard also reported on Pyongyang’s ballistic missile test, which its Minister of State for Defense Toshiro Ino condemned as “unacceptable.” The official assured that the repeated launching of projectiles by the Kim Jong-Un Administration endangers Japanese and international security.
Seoul warns of a North Korean nuclear test between October and November
On Wednesday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service assured the country’s lawmakers that a Pyongyang nuclear test could take place between the middle of next October and early November.
A window that could open after China, Kim Jong Un’s last great ally, holds a key Communist Party congress on October 16, but before the United States votes in the midterm elections on November 8. , according to the Seoul spy agency.
Meanwhile, the US Indo-Pacific Command said the recent release highlights the “destabilizing impact” of Pyongyang’s illegal weapons programs.
A State Department spokesman also condemned the test as a regional threat, but said Washington remains committed to a diplomatic approach and urged North Korea to engage in dialogue.
The North Korean government has ordered missile tests at an unprecedented rate so far in 2022. Some experts say this week’s drills are a show of force intended to warn of what could be Pyongyang’s first nuclear test since 2017. .
With Reuters and AP
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