North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast in the direction of Japan, following joint South Korean and US missile exercises and the return of a US aircraft carrier to the region in response to the North’s recent missile tests.
The missile launch was the sixth in 12 days and the first since North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile (IRBM) over Japan on Tuesday.
The launch was announced by the joint chiefs of staff of South Korea and the Japanese government.
“This is the sixth time in a short period just counting the ones at the end of September,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. “This absolutely cannot be tolerated.”
The launch came about an hour after North Korea condemned the United States for speaking to the UN Security Council about the Korean People’s Army’s “fair countermeasures over joint exercises South Korea and United States”.
In a statement released by the reclusive nation’s foreign ministry, North Korea also condemned Washington for repositioning a US aircraft carrier in waters off the Korean Peninsula, saying it posed a serious threat to the stability of the situation
The USS Ronald Reagan and its accompanying warship strike group were abruptly redeployed after South Korea and the US military conducted rare missile exercises east of South Korea. north
The move comes in response to North Korea’s launch of an IRBM in Japan this week, one of the sharpest reactions by allies since 2017 to a North Korean weapons test.
The United States accused China and Russia on Wednesday of enabling North Korean leader Kim Jong-un by blocking attempts to strengthen UN Security Council sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs .
Tokyo lodged a “vehement protest” with North Korea through delegations in Beijing, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said.
The first missile likely flew Thursday at an altitude of about 100 km and a range of 350 km, while the second had an estimated altitude of 50 kilometers (31.07 miles) and covered 800 km, likely flying on a trajectory irregular, he said. .
Many of North Korea’s newest short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) are designed to fly in a lower, depressed trajectory and possibly maneuver, complicating efforts to detect and intercept them.
“North Korea has relentlessly and unilaterally stepped up its provocation, especially since the beginning of this year,” Hamada told reporters.
South Korea’s JCS said the missiles were launched from near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.
Foreign experts said the missile fired on Tuesday was capable of reaching the US Pacific territory of Guam and beyond.
After Tuesday’s launch, the US, Britain, France, Albania, Norway and Ireland called an emergency meeting of the UN security council.
Observers say North Korea aims to expand its nuclear arsenal to increase its leverage in future negotiations with the US.
With Reuters and Associated Press