North Korea again fired two ballistic missiles at sea, the seventh and eighth in a fortnight. The missiles have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, but are once again fueling the country’s tensions with South Korea, Japan and the United States.
North Korea fired two more ballistic missiles into the sea overnight from Saturday to Sunday, the seventh and eighth firings in two weeks, the South Korean military said, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency. South Korean army chiefs of staff did not give further details. The Japanese Prime Minister’s Office confirmed the shooting on Twitter. “North Korea has carried out a suspected ballistic missile launch. More details will follow,” they said.
Tensions with the United States
The South Korean army chiefs of staff simply said that the two new missiles had been fired from southeastern North Korea, without giving further details. “While strengthening its surveillance and vigilance, our army remains ready to enter into action on the spot, in close cooperation with the United States,” said the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as quoted by Yonhap. The Japanese Prime Minister’s Office confirmed at least one shooting on Twitter. “North Korea has carried out a suspected ballistic missile launch. More details will follow,” they said.
Citing the Japanese government, the Japanese agency Kyodo reports that the two missiles were fired in the direction of the Sea of Japan and appear to have fallen outside the exclusive economic zone of Japan. According to the country’s coastguard, no damage to a Japanese vessel has been reported, Japanese broadcaster NHK said.
The two North Korean firings came after joint maneuvers between the armies of the United States and South Korea, which ended on Saturday according to Yonhap, and drills with Japan earlier in the week. They are the latest in a series, including, on Tuesday, the firing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, where the populations concerned had to be asked to take shelter. North Korea has justified its series of missile tests by American “military threats”.