North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its east coast in the direction of Japan, following joint South Korean and US missile drills and the return of a US aircraft carrier to the region.
\nAccording to international media, the launch on Thursday was reported by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Japanese government.
\nJapan’s Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada said one of North Korea’s missiles flew to an altitude of 100 kilometres with a range of 350 km and the second missile flew to an altitude of 50 kilometres with a range of 800 km.
\nMinister Hamada also noted that missiles likely flew in an irregular trajectory.
\nNorth Korea’s Foreign Ministry said its recent blitz of missile launches were “counteraction measures” against joint military drills by the United States and South Korea.
\nThe launch was the North’s sixth round of weapons firings in less than two weeks, which has prompted condemnation from the United States and other countries.
\nThe launch came two days after North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile over Japan for the first time in five years. Foreign experts said the missile fired on Tuesday involved an intermediate-range weapon capable of reaching the US Pacific territory of Guam and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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