North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea (Sea of Japan) on Wednesday, Seoul’s military said, amid an ongoing major military exercise between South Korea and the US, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from an area in or around Sunan between around 11:40 p.m. (1440 GMT) and 11:50 p.m. It did not elaborate further, pending an analysis.
“While strengthening our monitoring and vigilance against additional provocations, our military is maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the US,” the JCS was quoted as saying.
Earlier in the day, South Korea and the US staged joint air drills, involving at least one US B-1B strategic bomber, above the Korean Peninsula in connection with their Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which began on August 21 and is set to end Thursday.
The latest saber-rattling also comes after Pyongyang’s failed launch of a purported space rocket, carrying what it claimed to be was a military reconnaissance satellite, last Thursday, which marked its second botched attempt this year.
The North last test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles on July 24.
Source: Kuwait News Agency