Authorities are still compiling details of the North Korean launches and that there were no immediate reports of damage in Japanese waters. South Korea expects more acts of intimidation.
Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Tuesday, South Korea said, a day after the start of the biggest joint exercises by Seoul and Washington in five years.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had detected two short-range ballistic missiles fired from the coastal city of Jangyon, in the southeastern province of Hwanghae do Sul, between 07:41 (22:41 Monday in Lisbon) and 7:51.
“Our military has increased vigilance in anticipation of further launches, while standing ready to intervene as part of close cooperation between South Korea and the United States,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
A second statement revealed that the missiles landed in the waters of the Sea of Japan after flying around of 620 kilometers.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said that South Korean and US military intelligence “They are thoroughly analyzing the launches for more information and condemned the launches as serious provocations and a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters authorities were still gathering details of the North Korean launches and there were no immediate reports of damage in Japanese waters.
On Monday, Pyongyang had declared that he had tested firing two cruise missiles from a submarine.
The launch demonstrates North Korea’s “unchanging position” in the face of a situation in which “US imperialists and South Korean puppet forces are advancing their less and less covert military maneuvers” against Pyongyang, the official North Korean news agency said. KCNA.
These North Korean missile launches come after the Armed Forces of the United States and South Korea began, also on Monday, the largest joint maneuvers on the ground in recent years.
South Korea, US begin joint exercises after North Korea launches missiles
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said that while Pyongyang regularly justifies missile tests by pointing fingers at military exercises in the south, they also serve a national purpose.
“To a large extent it is about the Kim regime. not seem weak when facing internal economic difficulties and while South Korea has managed to bolster its conventional firepower and defense partnerships,” he told Agence France-Presse.
“We can expect more shows of force from Pyongyang,” Easley added.
“More missile launches, with variations in style and range, and even a nuclear test are expected. More acts of intimidation by North Korea should not surprise us,” said Chun In-bum, a retired South Korean general.
Source: Observadora
