Japan and the US held joint air and sea military exercises over the Korean Peninsula and the sea between Japan (Reuters Photo)
A South Korean military statement said the missile was launched at 11:05 a.m. (0205 GMT) from the Dongchang-ri site on the west coast, traveling about 800 km (500 miles) before hitting the target. .
North Korea on Sunday fired a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea and Japan said, in the latest series of tests launched by the nuclear-armed state this year.
A South Korean military statement said the missile was launched at 11:05 a.m. (0205 GMT) from the Dongchang-ri site on the west coast, traveling about 800 km (500 miles) before hitting the target. . Japan’s Defense Ministry said the missile flew to an altitude of 50 km (30 mi).
Shortly after Sunday’s launch, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said the US deployed B-1B strategic bombers for a joint air exercise that Seoul and Washington say they are holding to bolster deterrence .
South Korean news agency Yonhap, citing the military, reported that the deployment of the bomber was planned in advance and was not related to North Korea’s latest launch.
Japan and the United States also held joint air and sea military drills over the seas between the Korean Peninsula and Japan on Sunday for the third consecutive day, Japanese local media reported.
Seoul has condemned North Korea’s ballistic missile launch as a “clear violation” of a UN Security Council resolution.
In a statement on Sunday, the G7 foreign ministers said they “deeply regret” the inaction by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) against the North due to “obstruction” of some members.
No countries were named, but China and Russia have blocked efforts at the United Nations to respond to North Korea’s series of missile tests.
‘Unacceptable’ threat to international peace
The launch has drawn criticism from Tokyo and Washington as well as Seoul.
“North Korea’s behavior threatens international peace and security, and is unacceptable,” Japan’s Defense Minister of State Toshiro Ino told a news conference.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said Sunday’s launch did not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or its allies. But the missile launch highlights the destabilizing effect of Pyongyang’s illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, it said in a statement.
North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan on Thursday, hours before South Korea’s president was due to visit Tokyo for a summit discussing ways to counter North Korea.
State media KCNA reported that Pyongyang said Thursday’s ICBM launch was a warning against US-South Korea military drills.
South Korean and US forces began an 11-day exercise, dubbed “Freedom Shield 23”, a week earlier not seen since 2017.
North Korea criticized the US and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for raising the issue of its human rights abuses at an informal meeting of the UNSC, KCNA reported on Sunday, calling it a “serious challenge” to its sovereignty.
North Korea’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations quoted state media as saying, “The US launched a human rights campaign against the DPRK in the UN territory while staging aggressive joint military exercises, which poses a serious threat to our national security.” “
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)