North Korea fires two ballistic missiles off east coast within three hours
South Korea's military says the North launched two short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area on Sunday afternoon, the second flying more than 600km into the East Sea.
North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles off its eastern coast on Sunday, about three hours apart, in its second set of missile tests in roughly a week.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the first missile was fired from the Wonsan area at around 3pm local time (0600 GMT) and flew about 450 kilometres into the East Sea, the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. A second missile followed at about 5:50pm, flying more than 600 kilometres, with South Korean and US authorities analysing its exact specifications, Nikkei Asia reported (via Reuters).
Japan’s defence ministry said the projectiles appeared to be ballistic missiles, and public broadcaster NHK reported they came down outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Tokyo lodged a “stern protest” with Pyongyang, calling the launches a threat to regional peace and security, according to Kyodo news agency.
South Korea’s presidential National Security Council condemned the launches as a “grave” violation of UN Security Council resolutions and urged Pyongyang to halt missile activity immediately. The presidential office convened an emergency security meeting after the first launch.
The tests came days after Pyongyang reasserted its status as a nuclear-armed state and rejected a UN nuclear watchdog resolution demanding it halt nuclear activities. They also followed North Korean condemnation of a US-led naval drill involving South Korea and Japan that ran from 29 August to 10 September near Guam. On Friday, Kim Yo Jong — the influential sister of leader Kim Jong Un — blamed US-led military drills for “ever-worsening” tensions on the peninsula (Channel News Asia).
Sources
- Nikkei Asia: North Korea fires two ballistic missiles off east coast in three hours — asia.nikkei.com (Reuters)
- The Jerusalem Post: Japan says North Korea launches apparent ballistic missiles into sea — jpost.com (Reuters)
- Inquirer.net: North Korea fires two ballistic missiles into East Sea – Seoul — globalnation.inquirer.net
- Channel News Asia: North Korea fires unidentified projectile into East Sea: Seoul — channelnewsasia.com
More on this topic: all World stories
