North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the open sea, according to the South Korean military. The two started early Monday morning local time from the western region of South Pyongan, the general staff said in the capital Seoul. They were flying towards the Sea of Japan (East Sea). How far is still unclear.
North Korean media later confirmed that two rockets were fired. They were aimed at targets 395 and 337 kilometers away. “The 600-millimeter multiple rocket launcher used in the launch is a tactical nuclear weapon,” reported the state news agency KCNA, and is capable of “paralyzing” an enemy airfield. South Korea and Japan condemned the missile launches; the United Nations called on North Korea to “immediately refrain from further provocations”.
North Korea fired a long-range missile that could theoretically reach US territory. The Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) of the type Hwasong-15 reached their destination in the Sea of Japan after a flight of almost 990 kilometers, state media reported.
Such missiles are considered the most important carriers for nuclear weapons. Tests with ICBMs and other ballistic missiles are banned from North Korea by United Nations decisions. North Korea’s development of ICBMs is primarily directed against the United States, which the regime in Pyongyang accuses of hostile policies.
Japan wants an emergency UN Security Council meeting
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have increased significantly again in the past year. Communist-ruled North Korea, subject to international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, increased the scope and pace of its missile tests. South Korea and the US resumed their joint maneuvers in full.
North Korean leader Kim Yo-jong’s sister warned of an increased US presence on the Korean Peninsula after the US held air exercises with South Korea and Japan on Sunday. “We are carefully evaluating the impact this would have on the security of our state,” Kim Yo-jong said in an official statement. “The frequency of using the Pacific as a firing range depends on the behavior of US forces.” North Korea has “satisfactory” missile technology and capability and will “now concentrate on increasing the quantity of its armed forces”.
After North Korea repeatedly launched missiles, Japan now wants to request an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said this to reporters at his official residence on Monday. According to the Japanese Defense Ministry, the two latest missiles landed outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone.