North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Tuesday, Seoul said. The day after the kick-off of the largest joint maneuvers between South Korea and the United States for five years , Seoul announced on Tuesday the launch of two short-range ballistic missiles by North Korea.
“Our army detected two short-range ballistic missiles fired (…) between 7:41 a.m. (11:41 p.m., Monday evening, in France) and 7:51 a.m. (11:51 p.m.)” which flew a distance of approximately 620 kilometers, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. “Our armed forces have increased their surveillance and vigilance in anticipation of other launches, while standing ready to intervene within the framework of close cooperation between South Korea and the United States,” he said. added.
Japan’s waters were unaffected
Japanese government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said the missiles did not land in Japanese waters. Tokyo suspects North Korea of wanting to engage in “new provocations”.
On Sunday, Pyongyang launched two cruise missiles from a submarine, on the eve of the start of joint exercises between Seoul and Washington dubbed “Freedom Shield”, which should last at least ten days and focus on “the evolution of the “security environment” due to North Korea’s redoubled aggressiveness, the allies said.
Pyongyang claimed that the launch was aimed at testing its “nuclear deterrents in different spaces”, while criticizing the exercises between the two allies.
Source : Le Telegramme
