North Korea fires two ballistic missiles

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff announced on Monday (March 27th). The launch comes days after Seoul and Washington completed their largest joint military drills in five years on Thursday.

According to the Japanese public television channel NHK, the missiles traveled a distance of 350 kilometers. The Japanese Coast Guard, quoted by local press, said the missiles landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Pyongyang considers these maneuvers as rehearsals for an invasion of its territory and has repeatedly warned that it will respond to them in a “overwhelming”. She said on Friday that recent exercises, dubbed “Freedom Shield”were training for a “occupation” of North Korea.

North Korean shooting series

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The North Korean army reacted by carrying out its own military maneuvers. She notably tested last Thursday what she presents as a new “underwater nuclear attack drone” able to trigger a “radioactive tsunami”, information received with skepticism by analysts. North Korea also launched its second intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) of the year last Wednesday.

Read also: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ‘satisfied’ with mock ‘nuclear counterattack’

After a record year of weapons testing and growing nuclear threats from Pyongyang in 2022, Seoul and Washington are stepping up their security cooperation.

Last year, North Korea declared itself a nuclear power. “irreversible” and leader Kim Jong-un recently called for an increase “exponential” of the production of weapons, including tactical nuclear weapons.

Read also: North Korea warns Washington that it will interpret the interception of its missiles as “a declaration of war”

The World with AFP

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