North Korea launches two ballistic missiles into East Sea, South Korea says
South Korea, the United States and Japan tracked the launches as Seoul and Tokyo condemned them as a threat to regional security.
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area into the East Sea on Sunday, South Korea’s military said, in the country’s second reported missile activity in eight days.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the first missile travelled about 450 kilometres after being launched at around 3pm. A second missile, launched at about 5.50pm, travelled more than 600 kilometres. Its exact specifications remained under analysis by South Korean and United States authorities.
South Korea, the United States and Japan tracked the launches and shared information from the initial stage, according to the South Korean military. Seoul’s presidential National Security Office also convened an emergency meeting to assess the implications for national security.
South Korea called the firings a grave violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and urged Pyongyang to stop its ballistic missile launches. Japan lodged what it described as a stern protest, saying the launches threatened regional peace and security.
The launches followed North Korea’s reaffirmation of its declared nuclear-armed status and rejection of an International Atomic Energy Agency resolution calling for an end to its nuclear activities. North Korea had also fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea eight days earlier during what it described as a joint firepower drill. The account of Sunday’s launches is based on statements from South Korean authorities; North Korea’s official account was not provided.
