North Korea fires more missiles, ‘important provocation’ says South| 5 points | World news
North Korea has reportedly fired two more ballistic missiles toward the East, prompting an alarm for people in the affected areas to take cover. The latest launch by Pyongyang is at least the seventh in two weeks, the South Korean military said. According to the joint chiefs of the armed forces of South Korea, the launch of the weapon came from the southeast of the country as it was said to be “a great provocation that harms peace”.
Earlier on Saturday, the North defended its missile launches saying they were for self-defense against direct US military threats and did not harm the security of the countries and the surrounding area.
Also read: North Korea fires a ballistic missile amid tensions over US-led military exercises
Here are the top five updates on the missile launch:
1. North Korea fired two ballistic missiles on Sunday, officials in neighboring countries said. The missile launch was at least the seventh such launch by Pyongyang in recent days, which has sparked widespread concern in the US and in Tokyo and Seoul, its allies.
2. Both missiles reached an altitude of 100 km (60 miles) and covered about 350 km, Japan’s defense minister, Toshiro Ino, said, Reuters news agency reported. He added that the first missile was fired at around 1:47 am local time (1647 GMT) and the second was fired around six minutes later.
3. Two missiles fell outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the Japanese government said. According to the coast guard, it has not received any reports of damage to Japanese ships, the country’s NHK reported.
Also read: North Korea defends the missile tests, saying it is self-defense against US military threats
4. “While strengthening our monitoring and vigilance, our armed forces are maintaining a full readiness position in close cooperation with the United States,” the joint commanders of South Korea’s military said, Yonhap reported.
5. The US military’s Indo-Pacific Command in a statement said they were “aware of the two ballistic missile launches and are closely consulting with our friends and partners,” AFP reported. “The launch shows the reckless nature of North Korea’s missile program,” he added.
(With inputs from companies)
