North Korea yesterday fired five short-range missiles into the sea off its east coast — the latest in a series of launches ordered by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un amid rising military tensions.
They came days after North Korea test-fired two medium-range missiles in what the UN Security Council described as an “unacceptable” violation of UN resolutions.
Tensions have been soaring on the divided Korean Peninsula since North Korea carried out its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, followed a month later by a long-range rocket launch that was widely seen as a disguised ballistic missile test.
Photo:AP/Lee Jin-man
The UN Security Council earlier this month responded by imposing its toughest sanctions on North Korea to date.
In recent weeks, Pyongyang has maintained a daily barrage of nuclear strike threats against both Seoul and Washington, ostensibly over continuing large-scale South Korea-US military drills that North Korea sees as provocative rehearsals for invasion.
A South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff official said the five short-range missiles were launched from near North Korea’s eastern city of Hamhung just before 3:20pm and landed in the Sea of Japan.
The official said analysts are still gathering intelligence on the precise missile type.
China, North Korea’s sole major ally, yesterday urged it to refrain from violating UN resolutions and called for calm. At a meeting with senior aides earlier yesterday, South Korean President Park Geun-hye warned of a “very crucial time” for the Korean Peninsula.
“Even after the international community adopted strong sanctions, North Korea continues to attempt reckless provocations as shown through Kim Jong-un’s recent order,” Park said.
Seoul government officials said they were fully prepared for the possibility of another North Korean underground nuclear test.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique