Two missiles have been fired into the sea east of North Korea as a US military base with nuclear weapons in South Korea.
North Korea has launched two ballistic missiles into its eastern seaboard, the Japanese and South Korean military said, just hours after the United States had nuclear weapons. missile boat arrived at a port in South Korea for the first time in forty years.
Both missiles launched Wednesday morning appear to have landed outside Japan’s economic zone, Japan’s defense ministry said.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) has asked North Korea to stop such releases.
“We strongly condemn North Korea’s series of missile launches that disrupt peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the world, and violate UN Security Council resolutions,” the JCS said.
The first missile reached an altitude of 50km (31 miles) and reached a distance of 550 kilometers (341 miles), while the second one rose to 50km and flew 600km (372 miles), Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters.
Japan has protested against the missile launch through diplomatic channels, he said.
The launch comes about a week from North Korea tested its latest Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, which Pyongyang said was a warning to the US and other enemies.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that Wednesday’s missile launch came after the first meeting between Seoul and Washington of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), which aims to promote “the US’s strong commitment to use all of its military capabilities, including nuclear weapons.” .weapons, to protect each other” South Korea.
(LEAD) N. Korea has launched two long-range missiles into the East Sea: JCS https://t.co/dNf9yFQxp2
– Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) July 18, 2023
The meeting also coincided with the arrival of the USS Kentucky at the naval base in Busan, “the first visit of an American nuclear-powered submarine (SSBN) since the USS Robert E. Lee in March 1981”, Yonhap reported.
The US military said it knew about throwing missiles Wednesday mornings and he talks a lot with his allies and partners.
The release was not seen as a threat to the U.S. or its allies, but the incident shows the deterioration of North Korea’s illegal weapons program, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said.
On Tuesday, a US soldier facing sanctions fled across the Korean border into North Korea. They believe the soldier is inside The preservation of North KoreaWashington did so, creating a new crisis between the two enemies.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha University in Seoul, said the recent launch was related to the arrival of a US warship and a meeting about Washington’s sanctions on South Korea.
“The latest round of North Korean missile strikes did not involve an American soldier crossing the Korean border, but this incident does not help either,” Easley said in a statement.
“As Pyongyang appears to be showing its nuclear threats and capabilities to South Korea, it will undoubtedly oppose Seoul and Washington’s Nuclear Consultative Group and the visit of the US nuclear warship,” he said.