North Korea on Wednesday fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, two days after Pyongyang claimed to have tested new long-range cruise missiles.
Two short-range ballistic missiles were fired from the central county of Yangdok at 12:34 p.m. and 12:39 p.m. and flew around 800 kilometers at a maximum altitude of around 60 kilometers, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The missiles traveled a distance of 800 kilometers at an altitude of 60 kilometers, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message sent to reporters.
“South Korea and US intelligence authorities are analyzing details for additional information,” the JCS said. “Our military is maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the US.”
The totalitarian state is banned from testing any ballistic missile technology under a set of U.N. resolutions.
The launch came days after Pyongyang announced a successful test-fire of what it said was a new type of long-range cruise missile.
The U.S. military said it is aware of the reports of the tests and is monitoring the situation with its South Korean and Japanese allies.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said North Korea’s missile launches did not pose an immediate threat to US personnel, territory, or allies, but highlighted the destabilizing impact of its illicit weapons program.
Nuclear negotiations have been stalled since a February 2019 summit between then-President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended without an agreement.
Diplomatic observers believe the missile launches were mainly intended to fulfill the North’s warning against the joint military exercises held by Seoul and Washington, in August, given that the country had ratcheted up tensions.
(With inputs from agencies)
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