Seoul, South Korea.- North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its eastern coast on Monday, the South Korean military said, a day after the North Korean government vowed “offensive and crushing” responses in protest against a new US military exercise with South Korea and Japan.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch took place on Monday morning, but did not provide further details, including the distance the missile traveled.
The firing occurred two days after South Korea, the United States and Japan concluded their new trilateral military exercises with multi-domain operations. The “Freedom Edge” drill involved a U.S. aircraft carrier and destroyers, fighters and helicopters from the three countries practicing anti-missile defense, anti-submarine and maritime interception exercises.
On Sunday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry issued a lengthy statement strongly denouncing the United States, South Korea and Japan for their trilateral drill. He described the test as an Asian version of NATO that openly destroys the security environment on the Korean Peninsula and harbors Washington’s intention to pressure Russia and besiege China.
The North Korean ministry said that “we will consistently defend the sovereignty and security interests of the State and regional peace with countermeasures of an offensive and crushing nature.”
Monday’s was the first weapons test by North Korea in five days. On Wednesday, Pyongyang launched what it said was a missile with multiple warheads. It was the first known launch of an advanced weapon under development designed to overcome U.S. and South Korean missile defenses. The North Korean government said the launch was a success, but Seoul rejected the claim, saying it was a hoax to cover up a failed launch.
North Korea has launched numerous balloons carrying trash toward South Korea in recent weeks in what it says is a response to South Korean activists sending political leaflets using their own balloons.
Meanwhile, Pyongyang began a key ruling party meeting on Friday to sort out what it said were immediate problems related to work to further improve Korean-style socialism. At the second session of the meeting on Saturday, leader Kim Jong Un spoke of “some deviations that constitute obstacles” to the country’s efforts to improve its economic situation, and “programmatic tasks to solve immediate political problems,” North Korean state media reported on Sunday.
#North #Korea #launches #ballistic #missile #east #coast #Seoul
