South Korea’s military said North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday morning, the latest in a series of tests ahead of a U.S. aircraft carrier’s arrival.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) stated the missiles were launched from North Hwanghae province at 7:47 a.m. (2247 GMT on Sunday) and traveled 370 kilometers (230 miles).
The Japanese authorities stated both missiles fell beyond the EEZ.
Monday’s launches preceded Tuesday’s docking of the USS Nimitz and its strike group at a South Korean navy facility in Busan.
South Korea’s defense ministry said the carrier would conduct joint maritime drills with South Korean forces on Monday off the peninsula’s south coast before arriving.
The ministry said the carrier’s first visit since the USS Ronald Reagan in September was intended to dissuade North Korea with more U.S. “strategic assets” in the vicinity.
South Korea’s military “strongly denounced” the North’s repeated missile launches as a grave provocation breaking U.N. Security Council resolutions and demanded an immediate cease.
The JCS said it would continue military drills with the U.S. while monitoring North Korea’s activity.
The Japanese government “strongly protested” North Korea’s missile launches, saying they endanger Japan, the region, and the world.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the recent launches did not threaten U.S. people or partners immediately. However, it stated that Pyongyang’s illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs destabilize the region.
Pyongyang fired six cruise missiles on Wednesday to practice tactical nuclear assaults, part of a recent increase in weapons testing.
According to Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, North Korea may launch a nuclear test.
U.S. and South Korean authorities have warned the North might conduct its first nuclear test since 2017, nearly a year.
Leader Kim Jong Un cautioned that South Korea and the U.S. should suspend military drills after North Korea tested a nuclear-capable subsurface attack drone on Friday.
Last week, the allies ended Freedom Shield 23, their springtime exercises, although they continue field training, including amphibious landing drills with a U.S. amphibious assault ship and carrier operations.
Pyongyang has consistently criticized the partners’ drills as preparation for an invasion of the North.
South Korea and the U.S. call the drills’ defensive.
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