Three short-range ballistic missiles have been fired by North Korea toward its eastern waters, it was reported early Saturday morning. It happened one day after South Korea launched a solid-fuelled rocket in its efforts to establish surveillance capability from space to improve the monitoring of its bitter neighbouring rival.
Tensions between the south and north increased this week when South Korea accused Kim Jong-un's regime of flying five drones across the border for the first time in five years. It responded by sending its own drones toward the North.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it had detected three launches from an inland area south of Pyongyang, the North’s capital, on Saturday morning local time in the East.
According to the Associated Press news agency, three missiles travelled about 220 miles before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The estimated range suggested the missiles tested could easily target South Korea.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff called the launches “a grave provocation” that undermined international peace, adding that it closely monitored North Korea's moves in coordination with the US and maintained a readiness to “overwhelmingly” deter any provocation by Pyongyang.
The US Command in the region said the launches highlighted “the destabilising impact” of North Korea’s weapons programmes and that the US commitments to the defence of South Korea and Japan “remain ironclad”.
Earlier, Japan’s Defence Ministry also reported suspected ballistic missile firings by North Korea. It was North Korea’s first missile launch in eight days and came five days after South Korea said it had detected the North Korean drones, all presumed to be small surveillance drones, south of the border.
North Korea had already test-fired more than 70 missiles this year. Many were nuclear-capable weapons capable of attacking the US mainland along with its South Korean and Japanese allies.
This week, North Korea was under a major ruling party meeting in Pyongyang to review past policies and new policy goals for 2023. It is highly unusual for North Korea to test-launch missiles when it holds such key meetings.
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