North Korea fired yesterday multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea in its second launch event in two days, South Korea’s military said, hours after a senior North Korean official released crude insults against Seoul’s hopes for warmer relations.
Several missiles lifted off from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area yesterday morning, flying about 240km each toward the North’s eastern waters, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
An additional North Korean ballistic missile fired later yesterday traveled more than 700km off the North’s east coast, it said.
Photo: AFP
The missile fell in waters outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said.
South Korea’s military earlier said it detected the launch of an unidentified projectile from North Korea’s capital region on Tuesday.
South Korean media reported that the projectile, also likely a ballistic missile, disappeared from South Korean military radars after displaying an abnormal development in the initial launch stage, indicating that the launch ended in failure.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that the North Korean launches had not posed any immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to allies.
The back-to-back launches came after North Korea made it clear that it has no intentions of improving ties with South Korea, whose liberal government has steadfastly expressed its hopes to restore long-dormant dialogue.
South Korea would always remain North Korea’s “most hostile enemy state,” North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs First Vice Minister Jang Kum-chol said on Tuesday.
He derided South Korea as “world-startling fools” engaged in wishful thinking over a statement by Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
After South Korean President Lee Jae-myung expressed regret over alleged civilian drone flights into North Korea, Kim Yo-jong on Monday praised him for what she called honesty and courage, but reiterated a threat to retaliate if such flights recur. South Korean officials responded by describing Kim’s statement as meaningful progress in relations.
Jang said her statement was intended as a warning, citing Kim Yo-jong as calling South Korea “the dogs affected by mange that blindly bark to the tune of neighboring dogs” as she criticized it for recently cosponsoring a UN resolution on North Korea’s purported human rights violations.
North Korean media yesterday reported that Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) would visit North Korea today for a two-day trip.
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