South Korea’s military said North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, the latest in a series of weapons tests.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the two missiles were launched at around 22:40 GMT (Monday) from the southern province of Hwanghae, near the country’s western coast, and covered a distance of about 620 km, according to AFP.
The launch comes two days after North Korea launched what it called two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine, and less than a week after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the military to intensify its training to deter and respond to a “real war” if necessary.
The South Korean and US forces began an 11-day joint exercise, dubbed “Shield of Freedom 23”, on Monday. The maneuvers will take place on an unprecedented scale since 2017 to counter the growing threat from the North.
Sol prepares and denounces
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said, in a statement, that the South Korean army is on high alert and in a state of full readiness, in close coordination with the United States.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said the missiles did not pose an immediate threat to the forces or territory of the United States or its allies, but said the North’s illegal weapons programs had a destabilizing effect.
South Korea’s military “strongly” condemned North Korea, describing the repeated missile launches as a major provocation that threatens peace and security in the region and a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
“The South Korean-US alliance will go ahead with the exercises and exercises as planned, even if North Korea tries to disrupt the Freedom Shield exercises with provocative actions,” a South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman said in a briefing.
Japanese reaction
The Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Hirokazu Matsuno, said that it had not yet been confirmed that the missiles had entered Japan’s territories or exclusive economic zones.
“We see that North Korea is likely to intensify its provocative actions, including missile launches or nuclear tests,” Matsuno said. “We will continue to closely cooperate with the United States and South Korea on North Korean military movements and collect and analyze reconnaissance information,” according to AFP.
For his part, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that Japan is collecting information about the missile and that it has not yet confirmed any damage in the country as a result of the launch.
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