© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: North Korean chief Kim Jong Un attends the seventh enlarged plenary assembly of the eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang, North Korea, March 1, 2023 on this picture launched by North Korea’s Korean Central News Age
By Hyunsu Yim
SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile in direction of the ocean off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday, the South Korean army mentioned, the newest in a barrage of weapons exams from the nuclear-armed state.
The missile, which was launched from the Dongchang-ri web site on the west coast at round 11:05 a.m. (0205 GMT), flew some 800 km (500 miles) earlier than hitting a goal, based on a South Korean army assertion.
South Korea has condemned the collection of latest ballistic missile launches by the North as a “clear violation” of a U.N. Security Council decision. The launches have additionally prompted criticism from Japan and the United States.
“North Korea’s behavior threatens international peace and security, and is unacceptable,” Japan’s state minister of protection Toshiro Ino mentioned at a information convention, including Japan had protested strongly by way of North Korea’s embassy in Beijing.
In an announcement, the United States Indo-Pacific Command mentioned Sunday’s missile launch doesn’t pose a direct menace to U.S. personnel or to its allies. But the latest missile launches spotlight the destabilising impression of the nation’s illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile applications, it added.
The North on Thursday fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the ocean between the Korean peninsula and Japan, hours earlier than South Korea’s president flew to Tokyo for a summit that mentioned methods to counter the North.
Pyongyang mentioned Thursday’s launch of its ICBM was a warning towards ongoing U.S.-South Korea army drills, state media KCNA reported.
South Korean and American forces kicked off 11-day joint army drills dubbed “Freedom Shield 23” early final week which have been held on a scale not seen since 2017 to counter the North’s rising threats.
