The South Korean military said Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan on Tuesday morning, the day after the start of joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington.
The Joint Headquarters of the South Korean Armed Forces said it observed the launch in the Jang Yong area of South Hwanghae province from 7:41 a.m. to 7:51 a.m., without giving details.
“Our military maintains full readiness in close cooperation with the United States, while increasing surveillance and vigilance,” she told reporters.
The Pentagon Indo-Pacific Command said the United States does not view the incident as an immediate threat to itself or its allies, noting that it “highlights the destabilizing nature of North Korea’s illegal weapons of mass destruction and its ballistic missile programs.”
For its part, the Japanese government said it did not record the passage of two ballistic missiles fired by North Korea today over its exclusive economic zone, while Kyodo previously reported that two missiles landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. .
The launch came two days after Pyongyang fired a cruise missile from a submarine from the Sinpo area last Sunday in an apparent protest against the joint and intermittent “Freedom Shield” military exercise between Seoul and Washington, which began on Monday and will last until 23 March without a break.
This is Pyongyang’s fifth ballistic missile launch this year, following the last launch of six short-range ballistic missiles in the Nampo area on March 9.
And North Korea’s Central News Agency reported on Sunday that a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s military committee, chaired by leader Kim Jong-un, decided to take “decisive practical offensive measures to benefit from it as a deterrent.” to the war.”
Source: agencies