North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea and Japan said. Shortly before, a nuclear-powered US submarine with ballistic missiles had arrived in South Korea.
North Korea has responded to the arrival of a nuclear-powered US ballistic missile submarine in South Korea by launching two missiles, according to the Japanese and South Korean military.
Both missiles appeared to have landed outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said. Japan protested against the rocket launches through diplomatic channels. South Korea’s General Staff (JCS) asked the North to stop such launches.
The events underscored the destabilizing effect of North Korea’s illegal weapons program, the US command in the Indo-Pacific said.
North Korea just started testing ICBM
The first missile reached an altitude of 50 kilometers and a range of 550 kilometers, the second also flew about 50 kilometers high and covered a distance of 600 kilometers, said Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada.
The missile launches came about a week after North Korea tested its latest Hwasong-18 ICBM, which stayed in the air longer than any North Korean missile before it.
US soldier incident
It was the first time in four decades that a US submarine carrying ballistic weapons had entered a South Korean port. In view of heightened tensions with North Korea, the United States and its ally South Korea agreed in April to strengthen their military cooperation.
On Tuesday, a US soldier who is under disciplinary proceedings fled north across the inter-Korean border. According to the Washington government, the soldier is believed to be in North Korean custody.
“The recent launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea probably has nothing to do with an American soldier crossing the inner-Korean border, but such an incident doesn’t help either,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.