North Korea fires several short-range ballistic missiles into the sea
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area toward the sea off its eastern coast early on Saturday morning. According to the body, the missiles were launched at around 05:20 a.m. and travelled nearly 250 kilometres.
South Korean military officials said Seoul and Washington are closely examining the specifications of the missiles. The Joint Chiefs also added that South Korean and US intelligence agencies monitored the launch from the start and shared the relevant information with each other and with Japan.
The South Korean presidential office said that after the incident, the country’s National Security Office held an emergency meeting attended by the defence ministry, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other relevant bodies. According to the office, officials discussed the government’s response and the impact of the launches on South Korea’s security.
In a statement, the South Korean presidential office said the country had urged Pyongyang to immediately stop launching ballistic missiles. It described the move as a serious violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The US Indo-Pacific Command also said it was aware of the launches and was in close contact with allies and partners. It said that, based on its current assessment, the launches did not pose a direct threat to US personnel, US territory or its allies.
The launches came a day after the end of a joint military exercise by the United States, South Korea and Japan, which was held to assess readiness against North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats. Wonsan is located on North Korea’s eastern coast and has also been mentioned in previous reports as one of the areas used for the country’s missile-related activities.
