SEOUL: A top military official of South Korea has said that North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the missiles lifted off from Pyongyang at around 7:10 a.m. and travelled around 360 km before plunging into the sea. However, the Joint Chiefs of Staff did not provide specific details about the development.
In a statement, it said that they strongly denounced North Korea’s missile launch which is a provocation that threatens stability and peace in the region.
Japan’s ministry for defense affairs also confirmed the launch of new missiles and said that two ballistic missiles from North Korea flew over 350 km, to an altitude of 100 km.
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who last week visited South Korea to reconfirm relations with Seoul ahead of his upcoming resignation, stated Tokyo strongly denounced the launch and also lodged a protest against Pyongyang.
Japan, South Korea, US and North Korea
Kishida stated that they continue to make efforts to cooperate with Washington and Seoul. Nuclear envoys of Japan, the United States, and South Korea talked by telephone and called the launch a clear violation of UN resolutions, South Korea’s foreign ministry said. They also vowed to reply to any provocations.
Earlier in July, North Korea had tested a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a 4.5-ton super-large warhead.
The recent launch came days following North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to produce “exponentially” more nuclear arms.” He late last month also oversaw a test of an upgraded 240 mm rocket launcher system. Kim also inspected new “suicide drones” and called for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) for unmanned vehicles.
