SEOUL: North Korea fired three ballistic missiles towards the sea east of the Korean peninsula on Saturday, the South said the Korean military.
The launches were the latest in an unprecedented number of missile tests conducted by North Korea this year, as Pyongyang continues weapons development amid speculation it could test a nuclear weapon for a seventh time.
The three short-range ballistic missiles were fired at around 8 a.m. local time (2300 GMT) from North Hwanghae Province, south of the capital Pyongyang, South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
All three flew at an altitude of around 100 km (62 miles) and covered a range of around 350 km (217 miles), the Japanese Defense Ministry said. The South Korean military also said the missiles traveled around 350 km.
“The launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea is a serious provocation that undermines peace and stability on the Korean peninsula as well as the international community,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, condemning it as a violation. blatant violation of the UN Security Council resolution. and urging him to stop immediately.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the latest launches posed no immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to Washington’s allies, but they did highlight the program’s destabilizing impact. North Korean weapons.
The launches came a day after South Korea’s Defense Ministry announced it had successfully completed a test flight of a solid-propellant space launch vehicle.
On Monday, five North Korean drones entered South Korea, prompting the South Korean military to jam fighter jets and attack helicopters in an attempt to shoot them down, in the first such intrusion since 2017.
Relations between North Korea and U.S. ally South Korea have been strained since the conservative government of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol took power in May, promising a tougher stance on the North.
Not including Saturday’s launches, North Korea has fired about 70 ballistic missiles this year, according to the Yonhap news agency, including about eight intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
North Korean state media KCNA had yet to mention the launches, but said on Saturday that the leader Kim Jong Un chaired a party meeting on Friday to decide policy and strategy for 2023.
The launches were the latest in an unprecedented number of missile tests conducted by North Korea this year, as Pyongyang continues weapons development amid speculation it could test a nuclear weapon for a seventh time.
The three short-range ballistic missiles were fired at around 8 a.m. local time (2300 GMT) from North Hwanghae Province, south of the capital Pyongyang, South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
All three flew at an altitude of around 100 km (62 miles) and covered a range of around 350 km (217 miles), the Japanese Defense Ministry said. The South Korean military also said the missiles traveled around 350 km.
“The launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea is a serious provocation that undermines peace and stability on the Korean peninsula as well as the international community,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, condemning it as a violation. blatant violation of the UN Security Council resolution. and urging him to stop immediately.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the latest launches posed no immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to Washington’s allies, but they did highlight the program’s destabilizing impact. North Korean weapons.
The launches came a day after South Korea’s Defense Ministry announced it had successfully completed a test flight of a solid-propellant space launch vehicle.
On Monday, five North Korean drones entered South Korea, prompting the South Korean military to jam fighter jets and attack helicopters in an attempt to shoot them down, in the first such intrusion since 2017.
Relations between North Korea and U.S. ally South Korea have been strained since the conservative government of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol took power in May, promising a tougher stance on the North.
Not including Saturday’s launches, North Korea has fired about 70 ballistic missiles this year, according to the Yonhap news agency, including about eight intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
North Korean state media KCNA had yet to mention the launches, but said on Saturday that the leader Kim Jong Un chaired a party meeting on Friday to decide policy and strategy for 2023.
