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.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from
RESOLVE: The increased expenditure, if approved by the legislature, would likely see Taipei buying more defense articles from Washington, reducing its trade surplus The government aims to increase defense spending to at least 3 percent of GDP this year, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, hours after US President Donald Trump again threatened tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors. At a news conference in Taipei following his first high-level national security meeting this year, Lai said the government would propose a special budget this year to increase the nation’s defense spending to more than 3 percent of GDP. “Taiwan must firmly safeguard its national sovereignty, strengthen its resolve for self-defense and bolster its defense capabilities,” he said. The president also vowed to double down on defense reforms and
RSS